I usually eat at the student union with co-worker or other students. Then back to work. I usually leave for the day at 4:30 p.m. I pick Martha
up at her job and we are back home by 5:30 p.m. After changing into more comfortable clothes, we turn on the television to watch the news while we prepare dinner. After dinner, we may study. go shopping, or just relax and watch television or listen to mus
i
c. Saturdays are a bit different. We often sleep late, until 9:00 a.m. or even a bit later. Once or twice a month we may go out for breakfast at a local restaurant. The rest of the day is spent working on the house, studying, or running errands. Saturday
evening is often spent with friends or family members, typically over dinner, or we go to a concert.
"My working day (4)"
The Smiths live at 87 King Street. In the morning Mr Smith goes to work and the children go to school. Their father takes them to sch
ool every day. Mrs Smith stays at home every day. She does the housework. She always eats her lunch at noon. In the afternoon she usually sees her friends. They often drink tea together. In the evening the children come home from school. They arrive home
early. Mr Smith comes home from work. He arrives home late. At night the children always do their homework. Then they go to bed. Mr Smith usually reads his newspaper, but sometimes he and his wife watch television.
"My working day (5)"
I get up at 7 o'clo
ck in the morning. I do my morning exercises, wash myself and dress. Then I sit down to breakfast. At 8 o'clock I leave home and go to the Institute. As a rule I come to the Institute at a quarter to 9. The lessons begin at 9 sharp. Today we have two lect
u
res, a seminar and an English lesson. At our English lessons we read the texts, ask and answer questions and do all sorts of exercises. We do not write many exercises. We usually write exercises at home. We speak English at the lessons. We speak English a
little now, but we want to speak English well. At about 1 o'clock I generally have dinner at the canteen. I come home at about 6 o'clock. I have supper and do my homework. I always do my homework in the evening, but I never work late in the evening.
At 11 o'clock I go to bed.
"My working day (6)"
I usually get up at 7 o'clock in the morning. I do my morning exercises, but not always, make my bed, wash and dress. Then I sit down to breakfast. At 8 o'clock I leave home and go to school. As a rule I come to
school in time as the lessons begin at 9 o'clock. I live not far from school and it usually takes me 15 minutes to get to school on foot. Usually we have 6 or 7 classes every day and after classes I return home. At 3 o'clock I have dinner and rest a littl
e
. After that I do my home work and help my mother about the house if she needs my help. Then I have supper and if the weather is good I go for a walk with my friends and if the weather is not good I stay at home something I watch TV; sometimes I listen to
music or chat with my friends over the telephone. I never work late in the evening. At 11 o'clock I usually go to bed but sometimes I watch television till late in the evening and that's why I may go to bed very late. But I always remember the proverb: "E
arly to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise."
"My working day (7)"
On week days I usually get up nearly seven o'clock. I do not like to get up early, but I have to, because I have a lot of work to do during the day. I do my morning
exercises, make my bed, wash my-self, dress and go to the kitchen to have breakfast. My mother usually prepares breakfast for me, but sometimes I do it myself. I do not like big breakfasts, I prefer a cup of coffee and a sandwich. Then I go to school (to
w
ork). It is rather far (not far) from my house and I go there by bus (on foot). I have classes (I work) till ... o'clock. Then I come home and have dinner. After it I do my homework and do some work about the house. I sweep the floor, dust the furniture a
n
d clean the carpets with the vacuum-cleaner. Sometimes my mot-her asks me to go shopping or to help her in the kitchen. After it I have free time. I go for a walk with my friend, or watch TV, or read books, or play computer games. Then I have supper with
my family. I like evenings very much because all of us get together after work and study and have the opportunity to talk and to discuss our family affairs. I usually go to bed at about eleven o'clock.
ABOUT MYSELF
They say that if you want something
to be done well, do it yourself. So I follow this wise saying and would like to introduce myself. I believe that it isn't an easy thing to speak about yourself as it's hard to have a look at yourself from aside but at the same time who knows you better th
an you yourself do?
My name is Elena Protasova. I live in Gomel. My family is an average sized Belarusian family: it consists of my father, mother, elder brother and me. As for my appearance I am a slim girl, a bit shortish, but it does not mind me. I have
a blunt nose, blue expressive eyes and chestnut shoulder length hair. My friends think I am rather attractive girl, but I have never thought I am a beauty. As far as preferences in clothes are concerned I should say that I'm rather moody person that's wh
y I cannot say I have one favourite style. Today I can wear a skirt, formal blouse and high-heeled shoes, but tomorrow I can prefer tight-fitting jeans, casual T-shirt and low-heeled shoes. Everything depends on my mood.
To my mind our life goes so fast th
at sometimes we don't notice how fleeting it is. For instance I didn't notice how eighteen years of my life have passed. I feel like it was yesterday when I went to school for the first time, but this year is the last one at school. It's unbelievable but
it is true. But I want to tell you everything in details.
My early years, which I remember only by parts, were interesting and careless. My childhood was happy because my parents devoted me a lot of time, my brother played with me and read books for me in
the evenings. So I can say I was surrounded with love, care and attention. As most children I was sent to the kindergarten at the age of three as both of my parents worked, but as far as I remember I didn't like to attend kindergarten. I'm sure I can neve
r forget my governor who made me eat semolina. In general the attendance of kindergarten seemed boring to me, though mainly there I met my first loyal friend.
When I was seven I went to school. My first school years were spent at school number 32, but then I moved to an English Specialized school number 71, where I got a proper education especially in such subjects as English, History and Geography.
School meant very much to me and I'm sure that it gave me a lot; first of all of course in educational spher
e. Thanks to school and my teachers I became more intelligent and educated person. I consider that I became more persistent, determined and ambitious. Diligence, attention and accuracy - all these qualities school developed in me regularly. And owing to s
chool I got acquainted with interesting people, devoted friends and excellent teachers.
After the 9th form I entered Gomel stale regional lyceum. Of course it was hard for me to leave my school friends and teachers, but I understood that it was my chance
to improve my knowledge in particular fields. The subjects I liked best at lyceum were English, Belarusian and History, that's why I decided to become an interpreter. In my opinion choosing the kind of career to follow is probably one of the most importan
t
decisions you will ever make. Before you make this decision you will have a lot of thinking about who you are, about the things you like to do and the things you do well. Though I descent from the family of engineers I'd like to become an interpreter. Th
i
s profession has always attracted me because I can get acquainted with various people and I can learn their customs, rituals and traditions. I'm sure that this creative profession can enrich my mind and make me more educated and intelligent person. And I
hope that my dream will come true.
I think that my star sign can tell you a lot about me, my inside world, soul and character. I believe that stars influence our fate and character, though I don't trust daily horoscopes. I was born under the zodiac sign of
Gemini. Stars affirm that Gemini are active and artistic. These people admire adventures and changes, they make friends with unusual lightness and they are excellent mates too. They are clever, dreamy, kind-hearted and demanding at the same time. They as
pire to do several things simultaneously, but they often leave them half-done. Such people hate to listen to complaints and wait for long. I can agree with majority of these statements, though I can't say that I am very demanding.
Once I read in a magazin
e that some scientists are sure that they can say what kind of person you are if they know what your favourite colour is. As for me I'm fond of purple and blue colours. According to the scientists' words I'm temperamental, successful, thoughtful and quite
. And I can say that I agree with all these traits of my character, though some of them are more clearly expressed in me, but others are less.
In my opinion I'm a kind-hearted and jolly person. I think I'm responsive and reliable that's why my friends and
relatives can always rely on me. I never refuse if people whom I love need support or a piece of advice. I try to be fair and just in attitude to the others. I'm rather calm person, but sometimesI1 can lose my temper and become either angry or sad. I'm mo
d
est and sometimes shy, but do not advice someone tricking or kidding me. I like staying alone and sometimes I retire into my shell, but at the same time I like a noisy company of my friends. I like to laugh and joke with them and I never let my friends do
wn.
My parents think that I'm an exemplary daughter, but a bit lazy, because I don't, like to help them about the house. They are sure that I'm a creative and active person and as busy as a bee, because I always do anything and I constantly have no free ti
me.
My friends consider me to be rather earnest girl, because I always think about anything, but all of them know me as a faithful and responsive friend, I'm always eager to help my friends and to calm them with the help of a tender word.
But like other
people I'm not an ideal. I can't wait for long that's why I can be called an impatient person. Sometimes I can be lazy, but I always try to fight with this feature of my character. Also I can be very sensitive I can't say that it's a negative trait of my
character but I dislike it a bit.
Though I'm rather a busy girl and I don't have much free time I always try to find spare time for my hobbies and interests because I have a lot of them. To my mind hobbies differ like tastes and if you have chosen a hobby
according to your character you are lucky, as your life becomes more interesting and enjoyable. In my leisure time I like to listen to my favourite music, but what kind of music I listen always depends on my mood. If I'm full of joy I like to listen to po
p
music, but if I'm sad I prefer hard music. I believe that music awakens the best feelings in my soul and high emotions. Also I like to read various books. To my mind reading is very useful because books enrich our experience with that of other people. Be
s
ides books help me to continue my own education and I disagree with the people who think that a tempo of modern life is too fast to waste time on reading. They are sure that books have begun to lose their prestige and value. I don't think so; I enjoy book
s
of various genres: detective stories, thrillers and historical novels, tales, works after classical and modern writers, but my favourite genre is love stories. I adore "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte. I have read this book a lot of times and I consider t
h
at it is a masterpiece of love genre. But most of all I like traveling because in my opinion it is always interesting to discover new things, different ways of life, to meet various people, to try diverse food, to listen to different music, etc. If you ar
e fond of traveling, you see and learn a lot of things that you can never see or learn at home, though you may read about them in books and newspapers and see pictures of them on TV.
As far as my dislikes are concerned I hate getting up early and overcrowded buses. I dislike envious and pushy people and rainy weather. But I'm happy that I have more things I like than I dislike.
And of course like all people I have someone I admire very much. Such a person for me is my mother. To my mind my mummy isn't an o
rdinary woman. I can't say that our characters are very alike but usually we understand each other without a word, our views often coincide.
She is always ready to listen to my endless stories about my setbacks, problems and troubles. She encourages me when I doubt my ability, helps to fulfill my aspirations and ambitions or to reach a secret goal.
And in conclusion I'd like to say that I like being me. And I hope that everybody who knows me likes me with all my positive and negative features of character.
-------------------------------------------
MY WORKINNG DAY
When I studied at lyceum my usual working days looked practically the same. But in my opinion, everything depends on person himself, so I did my best to make them more interesting and useful.
Li
fe is impossible without work. Of course not all creatures as well as people like it, but it is very important for progress. Our teachers and parents always say that hard work is the only way to achieve our aims and goals. To my mind one can't appreciate
the value of rest if he doesn't work. As for me I tried to organize my working day in such a way that I would be able to do as much work as possible.
My working day usually started like this. At sharp 6.30 my radio alarm buzzed. As it was actual on my bed i
t literary blasted me into awareness of the morning. This was due to the loudness I needed to wake me up. Though I am not a lazy-bone, in winter it was always difficult for me to wake up early. I hate the cold that's why I usually tried to stay in bed as
l
ong as possible. Sometimes I lay for a while deciding whether to pretend to be fatally ill, but then I usually gave up this silly idea because only little children practiced it and besides this trick usually didn't work. But when spring came and the air w
as fresh, when the sun shone brightly in the morning and the birds were singing I forgot about my sleep and felt full of energy.
So I finally crawled out of bed. By this time it was usually about 6.50. a.m. I think it wouldn't be fair to say that I did my m
orning exercises only from time to time. Though, of course. I know that good health is better than wealth. Nevertheless I preferred taking a shower to merely washing my face and after having a shower I got dressed and brushed my hair. It took me about 25-
3
0 minutes to do my toilet. I want to say that while I was doing all these things my mother was making breakfast. I was in a habit of having only a light breakfast. A cup of tea. some ham or cheese sandwiches were enough for me to be full. As a rule while
h
aving my breakfast I listened to a piece of good music on the radio. After breakfast I snatched my school bag. Frankly speaking I found my habit of packing the bag in the morning quite irritating, because I always left something important at home, but I c
ouldn't make myself do it in the evening. And then I rushed for lyceum. Unfortunately I live far from the lyceum. It took me about forty minutes to get there, that's why I was not lucky to sleep a bit longer than pupils who lived near it.
Frankly speaking s
ometimes my mood depended on what classes I had. On some days lessons flashed by very quickly, especially if they were the humanities, which I liked most, but they were dragging more slowly if I had such sciences like Physics, Chemistry or Math and especi
a
lly when we had to write tests in them. Wednesday was the hardest day for me; I stayed in lyceum longer than usual because we had an additional lesson in Belarusian language. I should say that I usually enjoyed hours at lyceum if I was up-to-date with my
s
chool work, because I hated the feeling of being left behind with anything. In general I enjoyed lyceum hours because they were instructive and interesting besides I liked lyceum because of the number of friends I had there, but I didn't let my private li
f
e interfere with my school work. In common I found life at lyceum bright and absorbing. Our classes started at 8.20 instead of 8.00 as they do in most schools. Usually we had 7 lessons a day. Every lesson lasted 45 minutes, as in a common school, but our
b
reaks were too short, that's why our freedom lasted only 5 or 10 minutes. But we were lucky to have a large break in the middle of the day which lasted 45 minutes. During this break we went to the canteen, and if there was nothing tasty and edible in it,
w
e visited the nearest shop to buy something, for example, sweets or rolls and then did almost everything we wanted. As life is given us only once I try to live it in the best and useful way. So I usually spent the rest of time reading various interesting
books or magazines or doing special exercises useful for brain, for example. I could solve puzzles. When I didn't manage to do all my homework at home the large break was mainly the time when I had an opportunity to finish it.
At 3 o'clock when my classes w
ere over I stayed at lyceum to play volleyball or to do some crafts. Our lyceum administration arranged several kinds of extra-class activities like concerts, debate clubs and sports competitions. Honestly I wasn't their active participant, but I took par
t
in them from time to time. Frequently I was back home later than 5 o'clock. On my way home I went to the baker's to buy some white and brown bread, biscuits and cakes. In the evenings I was busy doing my homework. There were subjects which required a lot
of homework to be done and I usually spent most of my time on them. The English language, as it was my main subject, took me no less than three hours to be done. Belarusian and Russian literatures took me a lot of time as well as I should read a lot, wrot
e different compositions and thought over various problems of our life. These subjects had never seemed easy to me.
When late evening came and I had some free time left, which happened very seldom, I went for a walk with my friends. But I rarely sat in fron
t of the TV set, as I prefer meeting friends to merely watching TV. Besides I'm keen on music. Listening to music makes me feel relaxed and calm. Sometimes it even helped me to do my homework. I was in the habit of doing two things together, for instance,
listening to music and at the same time reading a book or writing a composition. I don't know why but music didn't prevent me from productive work and didn't draw my attention away. On the contrary it helped me. Here I should say that there were not many
h
ousehold chores that I did in my final year as my parents understood that I was preparing for entering the university and they tried to set me free from spending my precious time on anything else but studying. But in spite of it I had little time for rest
; I think working hard is the right thing to do if you want to achieve something in life.
At about eight o'clock we usually had supper and all our family gathered in the kitchen. I should mention that it was the only time when we could see one another and t
alk about different things. We shared our joys and sorrows; discussed our plans for the next day. As for my supper it was usually light as I had dinner very late (at 5 or 6 o'clock), that's why I was not hungry when time came to have supper.
At about 11 o'
clock I usually had a bath and then I went to bed. When I went to bed I often thought about possible careers and dreamt of becoming reach and famous due to an outstanding talent that no one had discovered yet (just like they do in the movies). Then I allo
wed myself to worry a bit about lyceum, my future, the next day, what I looked like, what people thought about me and what I could do to change the way people thought about me. I usually fell asleep at midnight.
Generally I try to plan my working day. I thi
nk it helps not to waste time on trifles and to do all the things at a time. I like punctuality, exactness, when everything has its own place. To my mind it is easier to live then. When my working day is planned I don't waste time on thinking what to do,
s
o I have more time to do various useful things. When my working day is over I usually think about what things I have done and what this day has brought to me. If I understand that I have enriched my knowledge, learnt useful things and practiced to do some
t
hing important I consider that this day turns out well. I try not to leave things till last time. But not long ago it was my weak spot. It I had to learn something by heart I did it on the last evening, if I had a lot to read I did it at night. Of course
sometimes I didn't manage to do all the things I needed. I'd like to admit that my mum always said that I shouldn't leave things for tomorrow if I could do them today. At present I agree with her completely. So I have managed to get rid of this weak spot.
And in conclusion I'd like to say I'm happy to live a busy life. It is more interesting, exciting and instructive. When you are busy life doesn't seem to be boring.
----------------------------------------------------------
MY SCHOOL
Education is the main p
eople's wealth and lots of them consider it the sense of living. They get education from early childhood and learn until their hair is grey. To my mind, education plays an important role in people's lives, that's why a great attention is paid to it.
School
is one of our most significant institutions. School teaches reading, writing, the use of mathematics and other basic skills needed in everyday life. It increases people's knowledge of the world and themselves and helps them understand the rapid changes t
hat take place in modern society. In schools pupils learn their responsibilities and rights as citizens, improve their ability to think critically, and develop such basic values as truth, justice and equality.
People throughout the world attend schools, but
the quality of schools varies among countries. Today most of countries have well-developed educational systems and I'd like to mention that Belarus is among these countries. It embraces 11,000 educational establishments. The republic guarantees its citiz
e
ns the right to universal secondary education and creates means for further professional education. It tries to preserve the democratic character of education paying much attention to common human values, developing independent critical thinking instead o
f simple perception of information. But in spite of it, education in our country faces various problems nowadays.
It seems to me that the greatest problem for a school today is that all subjects are compulsory and pupils have no opportunity to choose the su
bjects they want to learn deep. Thousands of pupils have to spend a lot of time sitting and thinking over the subjects they don't like, don't need or don't understand. It usually drives them mad (I know it for sure) and they start hating this or that subj
e
ct or become indifferent to it. So if I were a Minister of education I would organize education in another way. In my opinion, some subjects should be optional so that children could choose their favourite ones out of the formal curriculum. I think that s
uch education is better and more effective.
Also in my personal view, schooling doesn't bring practical experience for young people. To my mind learning only theory by textbooks isn't enough. In every school should be chemical and biological laboratories wh
ere pupils who want to know more could work with their teachers after the classes. To my great regret not every school has a good computer centre. I think that special excursions to the corners of our native country should be organized for pupils who are
i
nterested in History. It isn't only useful but interesting as well. And of course, it would be great if the children who want to connect their lives with foreign languages could go to the countries where these languages are spoken and spend there some tim
e, communicating with native speakers.
To my mind these problems of schooling should be solved as soon as possible.
Now when my school years have been over I can say with certainty that it is fairly difficult to learn and that schooling brings hundreds of s
leepless nights, impaired nerves and millions of hours learning and learning. But on my first day at school many years ago I knew almost nothing about school.
As far as I remember, during the last two years at the kindergarten I was dreaming to go to schoo
l, because I found attendance of the kindergarten boring and I disliked almost all its rules. For example, I couldn't sleep at a daytime, but our governor always tried to make me sleep but in spite of it, while all children were sleeping I was thinking ab
out school.
And finally the first September of 1995 came. I'm sure I can never forget that day. It occurred on a sunny bright day when birds sang and trees were still in leaves I got up early on that day because I felt excited and started awakening my paren
ts. Then we ate, got dressed and went to school. I was ready for going to school, as at the age of seven I could read, write, count and paint, I had a good memory and learnt some Russian verses and some English words.
On my way to school I was thinking abo
ut this establishment School was a magic word for me. While walking I felt a bit nervous. It wasn't fear but the feeling of something new, unexpected that I would meet. I was accompanied by both of my parents and elder brother who was going to the 6th for
m.
My teacher and classmates met me at a school yard and after a solemn part we went to our classroom. Then there was a little excursion around the school. The teacher showed us a canteen, a gym, different classrooms, etc. I spent the whole day at school. I
t was the happiest day in my school life because my dream had come true. Both the teacher and new classmates became my friends. That day was unforgettable.
Years passed and my impressions about school changed. I began to learn different subjects, new teach
ers appeared and school became a typical place where I spent the largest part of the day. Long grey days started but the first day would be in my memory forever. My first teacher also will be in my soul and heart. Frankly speaking she was my favourite tea
c
her and I'm sure that she can be called an ideal teacher. She was an excellent teacher, not just a person teaching us subjects but a helper, an adviser and a friend. And what is no less important her attitude to the pupils was always friendly and tolerant
.
She was always interested in her pupils' health and atmosphere in our families. When a pupil was in trouble she usually gave him or her a piece of advice, if a pupil was ill our teacher always phoned him. Her lessons were always interesting and unusual.
She arranged various discussions and we took active part in them. She really had a gift to teach!
But our life passes so fast that sometimes we don't even notice how fleeting it is; so my first four years at school spent with my beloved teacher, flashed by very quickly.
I went to the secondary school. Though studying was not an easy thing to do I never felt homesick. I should say that I was lucky to study at an English specialized school. There I got proper trainings in such subjects as English, German, Lite
rature and History. But school for me was not only lessons and learning: I had a lot of friends there. It was an unforgettable time full of joys and trouble, of happiness and unimaginable adventures. I'm sure that school taught me a lot, first of all in e
d
ucational sphere. Thanks to school and my teachers I became intelligent and educated person. But school gave me a lot not only in educational sphere. I became more persistent and stubborn. Diligence, attention and accuracy - all these qualities school dev
eloped in me every day. I had many friends at school and good relations with my teachers. School was like my second home.
But after the 9th form I entered Gomel State Regional Lyceum. It's one of the best educational establishments in my native town that is
famous for its high-quality teaching and good equipment. Frankly speaking it was difficult for me to leave my school, as I'd spent a long span of life there. I came to school when I was a little girl, but when I was leaving it I was a grown-up person who
knew what she was going to be. But honestly I was really happy to enter the lyceum because the atmosphere there was so warm and pleasant, both teachers and students were one large and friendly family.
I want to say that lyceum is one modern schools in Belarus as it is a new type of educational establishments.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
up at her job and we are back home by 5:30 p.m. After changing into more comfortable clothes, we turn on the television to watch the news while we prepare dinner. After dinner, we may study. go shopping, or just relax and watch television or listen to mus
i
c. Saturdays are a bit different. We often sleep late, until 9:00 a.m. or even a bit later. Once or twice a month we may go out for breakfast at a local restaurant. The rest of the day is spent working on the house, studying, or running errands. Saturday
evening is often spent with friends or family members, typically over dinner, or we go to a concert.
"My working day (4)"
The Smiths live at 87 King Street. In the morning Mr Smith goes to work and the children go to school. Their father takes them to sch
ool every day. Mrs Smith stays at home every day. She does the housework. She always eats her lunch at noon. In the afternoon she usually sees her friends. They often drink tea together. In the evening the children come home from school. They arrive home
early. Mr Smith comes home from work. He arrives home late. At night the children always do their homework. Then they go to bed. Mr Smith usually reads his newspaper, but sometimes he and his wife watch television.
"My working day (5)"
I get up at 7 o'clo
ck in the morning. I do my morning exercises, wash myself and dress. Then I sit down to breakfast. At 8 o'clock I leave home and go to the Institute. As a rule I come to the Institute at a quarter to 9. The lessons begin at 9 sharp. Today we have two lect
u
res, a seminar and an English lesson. At our English lessons we read the texts, ask and answer questions and do all sorts of exercises. We do not write many exercises. We usually write exercises at home. We speak English at the lessons. We speak English a
little now, but we want to speak English well. At about 1 o'clock I generally have dinner at the canteen. I come home at about 6 o'clock. I have supper and do my homework. I always do my homework in the evening, but I never work late in the evening.
At 11 o'clock I go to bed.
"My working day (6)"
I usually get up at 7 o'clock in the morning. I do my morning exercises, but not always, make my bed, wash and dress. Then I sit down to breakfast. At 8 o'clock I leave home and go to school. As a rule I come to
school in time as the lessons begin at 9 o'clock. I live not far from school and it usually takes me 15 minutes to get to school on foot. Usually we have 6 or 7 classes every day and after classes I return home. At 3 o'clock I have dinner and rest a littl
e
. After that I do my home work and help my mother about the house if she needs my help. Then I have supper and if the weather is good I go for a walk with my friends and if the weather is not good I stay at home something I watch TV; sometimes I listen to
music or chat with my friends over the telephone. I never work late in the evening. At 11 o'clock I usually go to bed but sometimes I watch television till late in the evening and that's why I may go to bed very late. But I always remember the proverb: "E
arly to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise."
"My working day (7)"
On week days I usually get up nearly seven o'clock. I do not like to get up early, but I have to, because I have a lot of work to do during the day. I do my morning
exercises, make my bed, wash my-self, dress and go to the kitchen to have breakfast. My mother usually prepares breakfast for me, but sometimes I do it myself. I do not like big breakfasts, I prefer a cup of coffee and a sandwich. Then I go to school (to
w
ork). It is rather far (not far) from my house and I go there by bus (on foot). I have classes (I work) till ... o'clock. Then I come home and have dinner. After it I do my homework and do some work about the house. I sweep the floor, dust the furniture a
n
d clean the carpets with the vacuum-cleaner. Sometimes my mot-her asks me to go shopping or to help her in the kitchen. After it I have free time. I go for a walk with my friend, or watch TV, or read books, or play computer games. Then I have supper with
my family. I like evenings very much because all of us get together after work and study and have the opportunity to talk and to discuss our family affairs. I usually go to bed at about eleven o'clock.
ABOUT MYSELF
They say that if you want something
to be done well, do it yourself. So I follow this wise saying and would like to introduce myself. I believe that it isn't an easy thing to speak about yourself as it's hard to have a look at yourself from aside but at the same time who knows you better th
an you yourself do?
My name is Elena Protasova. I live in Gomel. My family is an average sized Belarusian family: it consists of my father, mother, elder brother and me. As for my appearance I am a slim girl, a bit shortish, but it does not mind me. I have
a blunt nose, blue expressive eyes and chestnut shoulder length hair. My friends think I am rather attractive girl, but I have never thought I am a beauty. As far as preferences in clothes are concerned I should say that I'm rather moody person that's wh
y I cannot say I have one favourite style. Today I can wear a skirt, formal blouse and high-heeled shoes, but tomorrow I can prefer tight-fitting jeans, casual T-shirt and low-heeled shoes. Everything depends on my mood.
To my mind our life goes so fast th
at sometimes we don't notice how fleeting it is. For instance I didn't notice how eighteen years of my life have passed. I feel like it was yesterday when I went to school for the first time, but this year is the last one at school. It's unbelievable but
it is true. But I want to tell you everything in details.
My early years, which I remember only by parts, were interesting and careless. My childhood was happy because my parents devoted me a lot of time, my brother played with me and read books for me in
the evenings. So I can say I was surrounded with love, care and attention. As most children I was sent to the kindergarten at the age of three as both of my parents worked, but as far as I remember I didn't like to attend kindergarten. I'm sure I can neve
r forget my governor who made me eat semolina. In general the attendance of kindergarten seemed boring to me, though mainly there I met my first loyal friend.
When I was seven I went to school. My first school years were spent at school number 32, but then I moved to an English Specialized school number 71, where I got a proper education especially in such subjects as English, History and Geography.
School meant very much to me and I'm sure that it gave me a lot; first of all of course in educational spher
e. Thanks to school and my teachers I became more intelligent and educated person. I consider that I became more persistent, determined and ambitious. Diligence, attention and accuracy - all these qualities school developed in me regularly. And owing to s
chool I got acquainted with interesting people, devoted friends and excellent teachers.
After the 9th form I entered Gomel stale regional lyceum. Of course it was hard for me to leave my school friends and teachers, but I understood that it was my chance
to improve my knowledge in particular fields. The subjects I liked best at lyceum were English, Belarusian and History, that's why I decided to become an interpreter. In my opinion choosing the kind of career to follow is probably one of the most importan
t
decisions you will ever make. Before you make this decision you will have a lot of thinking about who you are, about the things you like to do and the things you do well. Though I descent from the family of engineers I'd like to become an interpreter. Th
i
s profession has always attracted me because I can get acquainted with various people and I can learn their customs, rituals and traditions. I'm sure that this creative profession can enrich my mind and make me more educated and intelligent person. And I
hope that my dream will come true.
I think that my star sign can tell you a lot about me, my inside world, soul and character. I believe that stars influence our fate and character, though I don't trust daily horoscopes. I was born under the zodiac sign of
Gemini. Stars affirm that Gemini are active and artistic. These people admire adventures and changes, they make friends with unusual lightness and they are excellent mates too. They are clever, dreamy, kind-hearted and demanding at the same time. They as
pire to do several things simultaneously, but they often leave them half-done. Such people hate to listen to complaints and wait for long. I can agree with majority of these statements, though I can't say that I am very demanding.
Once I read in a magazin
e that some scientists are sure that they can say what kind of person you are if they know what your favourite colour is. As for me I'm fond of purple and blue colours. According to the scientists' words I'm temperamental, successful, thoughtful and quite
. And I can say that I agree with all these traits of my character, though some of them are more clearly expressed in me, but others are less.
In my opinion I'm a kind-hearted and jolly person. I think I'm responsive and reliable that's why my friends and
relatives can always rely on me. I never refuse if people whom I love need support or a piece of advice. I try to be fair and just in attitude to the others. I'm rather calm person, but sometimesI1 can lose my temper and become either angry or sad. I'm mo
d
est and sometimes shy, but do not advice someone tricking or kidding me. I like staying alone and sometimes I retire into my shell, but at the same time I like a noisy company of my friends. I like to laugh and joke with them and I never let my friends do
wn.
My parents think that I'm an exemplary daughter, but a bit lazy, because I don't, like to help them about the house. They are sure that I'm a creative and active person and as busy as a bee, because I always do anything and I constantly have no free ti
me.
My friends consider me to be rather earnest girl, because I always think about anything, but all of them know me as a faithful and responsive friend, I'm always eager to help my friends and to calm them with the help of a tender word.
But like other
people I'm not an ideal. I can't wait for long that's why I can be called an impatient person. Sometimes I can be lazy, but I always try to fight with this feature of my character. Also I can be very sensitive I can't say that it's a negative trait of my
character but I dislike it a bit.
Though I'm rather a busy girl and I don't have much free time I always try to find spare time for my hobbies and interests because I have a lot of them. To my mind hobbies differ like tastes and if you have chosen a hobby
according to your character you are lucky, as your life becomes more interesting and enjoyable. In my leisure time I like to listen to my favourite music, but what kind of music I listen always depends on my mood. If I'm full of joy I like to listen to po
p
music, but if I'm sad I prefer hard music. I believe that music awakens the best feelings in my soul and high emotions. Also I like to read various books. To my mind reading is very useful because books enrich our experience with that of other people. Be
s
ides books help me to continue my own education and I disagree with the people who think that a tempo of modern life is too fast to waste time on reading. They are sure that books have begun to lose their prestige and value. I don't think so; I enjoy book
s
of various genres: detective stories, thrillers and historical novels, tales, works after classical and modern writers, but my favourite genre is love stories. I adore "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte. I have read this book a lot of times and I consider t
h
at it is a masterpiece of love genre. But most of all I like traveling because in my opinion it is always interesting to discover new things, different ways of life, to meet various people, to try diverse food, to listen to different music, etc. If you ar
e fond of traveling, you see and learn a lot of things that you can never see or learn at home, though you may read about them in books and newspapers and see pictures of them on TV.
As far as my dislikes are concerned I hate getting up early and overcrowded buses. I dislike envious and pushy people and rainy weather. But I'm happy that I have more things I like than I dislike.
And of course like all people I have someone I admire very much. Such a person for me is my mother. To my mind my mummy isn't an o
rdinary woman. I can't say that our characters are very alike but usually we understand each other without a word, our views often coincide.
She is always ready to listen to my endless stories about my setbacks, problems and troubles. She encourages me when I doubt my ability, helps to fulfill my aspirations and ambitions or to reach a secret goal.
And in conclusion I'd like to say that I like being me. And I hope that everybody who knows me likes me with all my positive and negative features of character.
-------------------------------------------
MY WORKINNG DAY
When I studied at lyceum my usual working days looked practically the same. But in my opinion, everything depends on person himself, so I did my best to make them more interesting and useful.
Li
fe is impossible without work. Of course not all creatures as well as people like it, but it is very important for progress. Our teachers and parents always say that hard work is the only way to achieve our aims and goals. To my mind one can't appreciate
the value of rest if he doesn't work. As for me I tried to organize my working day in such a way that I would be able to do as much work as possible.
My working day usually started like this. At sharp 6.30 my radio alarm buzzed. As it was actual on my bed i
t literary blasted me into awareness of the morning. This was due to the loudness I needed to wake me up. Though I am not a lazy-bone, in winter it was always difficult for me to wake up early. I hate the cold that's why I usually tried to stay in bed as
l
ong as possible. Sometimes I lay for a while deciding whether to pretend to be fatally ill, but then I usually gave up this silly idea because only little children practiced it and besides this trick usually didn't work. But when spring came and the air w
as fresh, when the sun shone brightly in the morning and the birds were singing I forgot about my sleep and felt full of energy.
So I finally crawled out of bed. By this time it was usually about 6.50. a.m. I think it wouldn't be fair to say that I did my m
orning exercises only from time to time. Though, of course. I know that good health is better than wealth. Nevertheless I preferred taking a shower to merely washing my face and after having a shower I got dressed and brushed my hair. It took me about 25-
3
0 minutes to do my toilet. I want to say that while I was doing all these things my mother was making breakfast. I was in a habit of having only a light breakfast. A cup of tea. some ham or cheese sandwiches were enough for me to be full. As a rule while
h
aving my breakfast I listened to a piece of good music on the radio. After breakfast I snatched my school bag. Frankly speaking I found my habit of packing the bag in the morning quite irritating, because I always left something important at home, but I c
ouldn't make myself do it in the evening. And then I rushed for lyceum. Unfortunately I live far from the lyceum. It took me about forty minutes to get there, that's why I was not lucky to sleep a bit longer than pupils who lived near it.
Frankly speaking s
ometimes my mood depended on what classes I had. On some days lessons flashed by very quickly, especially if they were the humanities, which I liked most, but they were dragging more slowly if I had such sciences like Physics, Chemistry or Math and especi
a
lly when we had to write tests in them. Wednesday was the hardest day for me; I stayed in lyceum longer than usual because we had an additional lesson in Belarusian language. I should say that I usually enjoyed hours at lyceum if I was up-to-date with my
s
chool work, because I hated the feeling of being left behind with anything. In general I enjoyed lyceum hours because they were instructive and interesting besides I liked lyceum because of the number of friends I had there, but I didn't let my private li
f
e interfere with my school work. In common I found life at lyceum bright and absorbing. Our classes started at 8.20 instead of 8.00 as they do in most schools. Usually we had 7 lessons a day. Every lesson lasted 45 minutes, as in a common school, but our
b
reaks were too short, that's why our freedom lasted only 5 or 10 minutes. But we were lucky to have a large break in the middle of the day which lasted 45 minutes. During this break we went to the canteen, and if there was nothing tasty and edible in it,
w
e visited the nearest shop to buy something, for example, sweets or rolls and then did almost everything we wanted. As life is given us only once I try to live it in the best and useful way. So I usually spent the rest of time reading various interesting
books or magazines or doing special exercises useful for brain, for example. I could solve puzzles. When I didn't manage to do all my homework at home the large break was mainly the time when I had an opportunity to finish it.
At 3 o'clock when my classes w
ere over I stayed at lyceum to play volleyball or to do some crafts. Our lyceum administration arranged several kinds of extra-class activities like concerts, debate clubs and sports competitions. Honestly I wasn't their active participant, but I took par
t
in them from time to time. Frequently I was back home later than 5 o'clock. On my way home I went to the baker's to buy some white and brown bread, biscuits and cakes. In the evenings I was busy doing my homework. There were subjects which required a lot
of homework to be done and I usually spent most of my time on them. The English language, as it was my main subject, took me no less than three hours to be done. Belarusian and Russian literatures took me a lot of time as well as I should read a lot, wrot
e different compositions and thought over various problems of our life. These subjects had never seemed easy to me.
When late evening came and I had some free time left, which happened very seldom, I went for a walk with my friends. But I rarely sat in fron
t of the TV set, as I prefer meeting friends to merely watching TV. Besides I'm keen on music. Listening to music makes me feel relaxed and calm. Sometimes it even helped me to do my homework. I was in the habit of doing two things together, for instance,
listening to music and at the same time reading a book or writing a composition. I don't know why but music didn't prevent me from productive work and didn't draw my attention away. On the contrary it helped me. Here I should say that there were not many
h
ousehold chores that I did in my final year as my parents understood that I was preparing for entering the university and they tried to set me free from spending my precious time on anything else but studying. But in spite of it I had little time for rest
; I think working hard is the right thing to do if you want to achieve something in life.
At about eight o'clock we usually had supper and all our family gathered in the kitchen. I should mention that it was the only time when we could see one another and t
alk about different things. We shared our joys and sorrows; discussed our plans for the next day. As for my supper it was usually light as I had dinner very late (at 5 or 6 o'clock), that's why I was not hungry when time came to have supper.
At about 11 o'
clock I usually had a bath and then I went to bed. When I went to bed I often thought about possible careers and dreamt of becoming reach and famous due to an outstanding talent that no one had discovered yet (just like they do in the movies). Then I allo
wed myself to worry a bit about lyceum, my future, the next day, what I looked like, what people thought about me and what I could do to change the way people thought about me. I usually fell asleep at midnight.
Generally I try to plan my working day. I thi
nk it helps not to waste time on trifles and to do all the things at a time. I like punctuality, exactness, when everything has its own place. To my mind it is easier to live then. When my working day is planned I don't waste time on thinking what to do,
s
o I have more time to do various useful things. When my working day is over I usually think about what things I have done and what this day has brought to me. If I understand that I have enriched my knowledge, learnt useful things and practiced to do some
t
hing important I consider that this day turns out well. I try not to leave things till last time. But not long ago it was my weak spot. It I had to learn something by heart I did it on the last evening, if I had a lot to read I did it at night. Of course
sometimes I didn't manage to do all the things I needed. I'd like to admit that my mum always said that I shouldn't leave things for tomorrow if I could do them today. At present I agree with her completely. So I have managed to get rid of this weak spot.
And in conclusion I'd like to say I'm happy to live a busy life. It is more interesting, exciting and instructive. When you are busy life doesn't seem to be boring.
----------------------------------------------------------
MY SCHOOL
Education is the main p
eople's wealth and lots of them consider it the sense of living. They get education from early childhood and learn until their hair is grey. To my mind, education plays an important role in people's lives, that's why a great attention is paid to it.
School
is one of our most significant institutions. School teaches reading, writing, the use of mathematics and other basic skills needed in everyday life. It increases people's knowledge of the world and themselves and helps them understand the rapid changes t
hat take place in modern society. In schools pupils learn their responsibilities and rights as citizens, improve their ability to think critically, and develop such basic values as truth, justice and equality.
People throughout the world attend schools, but
the quality of schools varies among countries. Today most of countries have well-developed educational systems and I'd like to mention that Belarus is among these countries. It embraces 11,000 educational establishments. The republic guarantees its citiz
e
ns the right to universal secondary education and creates means for further professional education. It tries to preserve the democratic character of education paying much attention to common human values, developing independent critical thinking instead o
f simple perception of information. But in spite of it, education in our country faces various problems nowadays.
It seems to me that the greatest problem for a school today is that all subjects are compulsory and pupils have no opportunity to choose the su
bjects they want to learn deep. Thousands of pupils have to spend a lot of time sitting and thinking over the subjects they don't like, don't need or don't understand. It usually drives them mad (I know it for sure) and they start hating this or that subj
e
ct or become indifferent to it. So if I were a Minister of education I would organize education in another way. In my opinion, some subjects should be optional so that children could choose their favourite ones out of the formal curriculum. I think that s
uch education is better and more effective.
Also in my personal view, schooling doesn't bring practical experience for young people. To my mind learning only theory by textbooks isn't enough. In every school should be chemical and biological laboratories wh
ere pupils who want to know more could work with their teachers after the classes. To my great regret not every school has a good computer centre. I think that special excursions to the corners of our native country should be organized for pupils who are
i
nterested in History. It isn't only useful but interesting as well. And of course, it would be great if the children who want to connect their lives with foreign languages could go to the countries where these languages are spoken and spend there some tim
e, communicating with native speakers.
To my mind these problems of schooling should be solved as soon as possible.
Now when my school years have been over I can say with certainty that it is fairly difficult to learn and that schooling brings hundreds of s
leepless nights, impaired nerves and millions of hours learning and learning. But on my first day at school many years ago I knew almost nothing about school.
As far as I remember, during the last two years at the kindergarten I was dreaming to go to schoo
l, because I found attendance of the kindergarten boring and I disliked almost all its rules. For example, I couldn't sleep at a daytime, but our governor always tried to make me sleep but in spite of it, while all children were sleeping I was thinking ab
out school.
And finally the first September of 1995 came. I'm sure I can never forget that day. It occurred on a sunny bright day when birds sang and trees were still in leaves I got up early on that day because I felt excited and started awakening my paren
ts. Then we ate, got dressed and went to school. I was ready for going to school, as at the age of seven I could read, write, count and paint, I had a good memory and learnt some Russian verses and some English words.
On my way to school I was thinking abo
ut this establishment School was a magic word for me. While walking I felt a bit nervous. It wasn't fear but the feeling of something new, unexpected that I would meet. I was accompanied by both of my parents and elder brother who was going to the 6th for
m.
My teacher and classmates met me at a school yard and after a solemn part we went to our classroom. Then there was a little excursion around the school. The teacher showed us a canteen, a gym, different classrooms, etc. I spent the whole day at school. I
t was the happiest day in my school life because my dream had come true. Both the teacher and new classmates became my friends. That day was unforgettable.
Years passed and my impressions about school changed. I began to learn different subjects, new teach
ers appeared and school became a typical place where I spent the largest part of the day. Long grey days started but the first day would be in my memory forever. My first teacher also will be in my soul and heart. Frankly speaking she was my favourite tea
c
her and I'm sure that she can be called an ideal teacher. She was an excellent teacher, not just a person teaching us subjects but a helper, an adviser and a friend. And what is no less important her attitude to the pupils was always friendly and tolerant
.
She was always interested in her pupils' health and atmosphere in our families. When a pupil was in trouble she usually gave him or her a piece of advice, if a pupil was ill our teacher always phoned him. Her lessons were always interesting and unusual.
She arranged various discussions and we took active part in them. She really had a gift to teach!
But our life passes so fast that sometimes we don't even notice how fleeting it is; so my first four years at school spent with my beloved teacher, flashed by very quickly.
I went to the secondary school. Though studying was not an easy thing to do I never felt homesick. I should say that I was lucky to study at an English specialized school. There I got proper trainings in such subjects as English, German, Lite
rature and History. But school for me was not only lessons and learning: I had a lot of friends there. It was an unforgettable time full of joys and trouble, of happiness and unimaginable adventures. I'm sure that school taught me a lot, first of all in e
d
ucational sphere. Thanks to school and my teachers I became intelligent and educated person. But school gave me a lot not only in educational sphere. I became more persistent and stubborn. Diligence, attention and accuracy - all these qualities school dev
eloped in me every day. I had many friends at school and good relations with my teachers. School was like my second home.
But after the 9th form I entered Gomel State Regional Lyceum. It's one of the best educational establishments in my native town that is
famous for its high-quality teaching and good equipment. Frankly speaking it was difficult for me to leave my school, as I'd spent a long span of life there. I came to school when I was a little girl, but when I was leaving it I was a grown-up person who
knew what she was going to be. But honestly I was really happy to enter the lyceum because the atmosphere there was so warm and pleasant, both teachers and students were one large and friendly family.
I want to say that lyceum is one modern schools in Belarus as it is a new type of educational establishments.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17