Sports and Games
1) The Olympic games
2) Types of sport
3) Popular sports (GB, USA, Czech), Professional Sport
4) Sports harmful to your health
5) My favourite sport
1)
The Olympic games are international athletic competition held every four-year in different countries in the world. The Olympic games were already held in ancient Greece and they were renewed by Baron Pierre de Coubertain about hundred years ago. Since 1924 there are two parts, the winter part and the summer part, which alternate once every two years.
2)
Sport can be divided form many points of view. Basic division is into the indoor and outdoor sports. Indoor sport can be gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, etc…Outdoor sports are e.g. skiing (cross country, downhill, slalom, ski jump), rock climbing, horse riding, golf, windsurfing, etc…. Many sports can be practiced indoor and outdoor too. (e.g. football, volleyball, basketball, tennis, swimming, etc…)
Other divisions are winter/summer sports, professional/non-professional, individual/group sport, etc…
3)
The most numerous group if games are the ball games. Here is comparison what kinds of games are popular around world.
The British are great lovers of competitive sports, and they are neither playing nor watching, they like to talk about it. England was the first home of modern games. The most widespread is football. In England there are many reputable football clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal or Aston Villa) and in London there is one of the biggest football stadiums at the world – Wembley Arena. In the USA is football called soccer. Rugby football is also very popular. In this game the ball is oval. National game in Scotland is golf and in England is the national sport cricket. Next to football the chief spectator is horseracing. The best-known steeplechase is the Great National run at Aintree near Liverpool. Another popular sport is tennis. Every year is held one of the most prestige tournaments in the world the Wimbledon.
In the USA most sports and games were commercionalized. The most popular sports are football, which is different (they play with oval ball), baseball, ice-hockey and basketball.
The succeed sportsmen earn lot of money.
In our country are the most popular ball games. Ice hockey is very important because it is on the very high level. We produce many sportsmen who achieved the international success.
The sport is also good method how to earn money and these are not small amounts, as we know. If is the sportsman reaches the highest level the club could sell him for huge amounts.
4)
To practise any sport is very good for our health. In the time of the haste our body have to relax and the sport is good way. It is also the way to keep us in the condition and it is better than e.g. slimming diet.
5)
My favourite sport is ice hockey. I’ d like to tell something about the ice hockey. Here are some rules. The goal of this game is to get the puck into the rival’s gate. There are six players on the ice, one goalkeeper and five more players. The playing time is three times twenty minutes. If the winner is unknown after regular playing time there are another 20 minutes the first goal is decisive. If the winner is unknown after this time then there raids.
Here are some things that are disallowed. Icing is when the player is the rival’s half before the puck. Another is for example “two line pass “. That means that player can’t pass the puck over two lines. There are also some fouls. Hooking, elbowing, play with high hockey stick are punished with exclude form the play for some time, as a rule for 2 minutes a more.
The Czech Republic
Basic facts and geography
The Czech Republic is a state in Central Europe. It occupies an area of 78.864 km2 and it has a population about 10, 3 million inhabitants. Our state is surrounded by the Šumava, the Czech Forest, the Ore Mountains, the Jizerské Mountains, the Giant Mountains and the Eagle Mountains. The Moravian Plain is protected on the West by the Bohemia-Moravian Highland and on the North by the wooded mountainous ranges of Jeseníky and Beskydy. Fertile lowlands can be found in the valleys of the big rivers, the Vltava, the Elbe (following into the North Sea), the Oder (following into the Baltic Sea) and the Morava (following into the Danube and then into the Black Sea) . The climate is mostly continental; the warmest areas are in South Moravia.
One of our most important raw materials is the coal. The black coal and anthracite are to be found in the Ostrava Coal Basin and in the Kladno. The brown coal and lignite are in the North Bohemia Coal Basin and in Western Bohemia in the Sokolov Basin. We have also minor deposits of iron ore, uranium and oil. We have also rich deposits of kaolin and clay which is very important for our glass and ceramic industry. The Czech Republic is industrial country especially we are focused on the engineering industry. Beside this we have also chemical, textile and food industry. Our agriculture is developed enough to supply the people
and to export too.
History
The Slavonic tribes came about 5th century A.D. The first state was the Sámo’s empire established in 623. The first mighty feudal state was Great Moravia Empire in the 9th century. The first historically documented Czech prince was Bořivoj I. The Czech princes, later kings played very important role in the development of the Europe. When the Přemyslid dynasty died after sword in 1306 the throne went in the form of wedding to the Luxembourgs. During their rule the country rose on the importance. One of the most famous Czech kings was Charles IV. During his rule Prague became a centre of Europe. It was the centre of culture, education and trade. In 1348 he established Charles University in Prague.
The reign of Wenceslas IV. is connected with the Hussite Movement John Hus wanted the reformation of the church and the died on the stake as a heretic on 6th June 1415. The main leaders of the movement were John Žižka, Prokop Holý, who fought over many crusades against the Hussite movement.
George of Poděbrady also called “Hussite king” was very good diplomat and he tried to unite Europe against the Turkish danger. After his rule the Jagiellonians, Hapsburg dynasty took over the throne to the end of the 19th century. The best known sovereign was Rudolf II., who re-established the Prague’s importance. He was a fierce collector of an art so Prague became the centre of culture during his rule. But the reign caused that Czech language was oppressed and nation went through the germanization.
19th century brought a time of national revival and after the World War I. on 18th October was established Czechoslovak Republic. But the state was almost destroyed by the Hitler’s occupation after the Munich act from 29th September 1938. After the Nacism was defeated on 8th May 1945 the county was innovated in his original form. Next shock for the nation was the Soviet occupation in 1968. The forty rule of the Communism ended The Velvet revolution on 17th November 1989. The country was divided into The Czech and Slovak Republic 1st January 1993.
National symbols
Emblem – Checked Eagle – Moravia; Black Eagle – Slezsko; two two tails lions
Anthem – “Kde domov můj” – from the opera Fidlovačka – J.K.Tyl and song written by F. Škroup
Flag – Blue field – justice
Red field - blood
White field - peace
National currency is crown.
Political system
The Czech Republic is sovereign, united and democratic state. The government is divided into the tree branches – legislative represented by the Parliament, executive represented by president and the government and judicial represented by courts of various levels.
The Parliament has two chambers – the Chamber of Deputies and the senate. The Chamber of Deputies has 200 members elected every four years and the Senate has 81 Senators and after each 2 years is one third of Senators renewed. They are responsible for making and passing laws. Before the law is passed it have to go through the Chamber of Deputies then the Senate and in the end President has to sign it.
The President is elected every five by the Parliament, but no more then twice. He has the function as the national representant, but he is also commander-in-chief of army. He asks the leader of the most successful party to create the government, he appoints the judges and he has the right to declare amnesty.
The judicial power is divided into a system of courts. The basic is Constitutional court and the highest is the Supreme Court.
The most important parties are The Social Democratic party, Civic Democratic Party, Civic Democratic Union, the Christian Democratic Party and the Czech-Moravian Communist party.
The Czech Republic is a state in Central Europe. It occupies an area of 78.864 km2 and it has a population about 10, 3 million inhabitants. Our state is surrounded by the Šumava, the Czech Forest, the Ore Mountains, the Jizerské Mountains, the Giant Mountains and the Eagle Mountains. The Moravian Plain is protected on the West by the Bohemia-Moravian Highland and on the North by the wooded mountainous ranges of Jeseníky and Beskydy. Fertile lowlands can be found in the valleys of the big rivers, the Vltava, the Elbe (following into the North Sea), the Oder (following into the Baltic Sea) and the Morava (following into the Danube and then into the Black Sea) . The climate is mostly continental; the warmest areas are in South Moravia.
One of our most important raw materials is the coal. The black coal and anthracite are to be found in the Ostrava Coal Basin and in the Kladno. The brown coal and lignite are in the North Bohemia Coal Basin and in Western Bohemia in the Sokolov Basin. We have also minor deposits of iron ore, uranium and oil. We have also rich deposits of kaolin and clay which is very important for our glass and ceramic industry. The Czech Republic is industrial country especially we are focused on the engineering industry. Beside this we have also chemical, textile and food industry. Our agriculture is developed enough to supply the people
and to export too.
History
The Slavonic tribes came about 5th century A.D. The first state was the Sámo’s empire established in 623. The first mighty feudal state was Great Moravia Empire in the 9th century. The first historically documented Czech prince was Bořivoj I. The Czech princes, later kings played very important role in the development of the Europe. When the Přemyslid dynasty died after sword in 1306 the throne went in the form of wedding to the Luxembourgs. During their rule the country rose on the importance. One of the most famous Czech kings was Charles IV. During his rule Prague became a centre of Europe. It was the centre of culture, education and trade. In 1348 he established Charles University in Prague.
The reign of Wenceslas IV. is connected with the Hussite Movement John Hus wanted the reformation of the church and the died on the stake as a heretic on 6th June 1415. The main leaders of the movement were John Žižka, Prokop Holý, who fought over many crusades against the Hussite movement.
George of Poděbrady also called “Hussite king” was very good diplomat and he tried to unite Europe against the Turkish danger. After his rule the Jagiellonians, Hapsburg dynasty took over the throne to the end of the 19th century. The best known sovereign was Rudolf II., who re-established the Prague’s importance. He was a fierce collector of an art so Prague became the centre of culture during his rule. But the reign caused that Czech language was oppressed and nation went through the germanization.
19th century brought a time of national revival and after the World War I. on 18th October was established Czechoslovak Republic. But the state was almost destroyed by the Hitler’s occupation after the Munich act from 29th September 1938. After the Nacism was defeated on 8th May 1945 the county was innovated in his original form. Next shock for the nation was the Soviet occupation in 1968. The forty rule of the Communism ended The Velvet revolution on 17th November 1989. The country was divided into The Czech and Slovak Republic 1st January 1993.
National symbols
Emblem – Checked Eagle – Moravia; Black Eagle – Slezsko; two two tails lions
Anthem – “Kde domov můj” – from the opera Fidlovačka – J.K.Tyl and song written by F. Škroup
Flag – Blue field – justice
Red field - blood
White field - peace
National currency is crown.
Political system
The Czech Republic is sovereign, united and democratic state. The government is divided into the tree branches – legislative represented by the Parliament, executive represented by president and the government and judicial represented by courts of various levels.
The Parliament has two chambers – the Chamber of Deputies and the senate. The Chamber of Deputies has 200 members elected every four years and the Senate has 81 Senators and after each 2 years is one third of Senators renewed. They are responsible for making and passing laws. Before the law is passed it have to go through the Chamber of Deputies then the Senate and in the end President has to sign it.
The President is elected every five by the Parliament, but no more then twice. He has the function as the national representant, but he is also commander-in-chief of army. He asks the leader of the most successful party to create the government, he appoints the judges and he has the right to declare amnesty.
The judicial power is divided into a system of courts. The basic is Constitutional court and the highest is the Supreme Court.
The most important parties are The Social Democratic party, Civic Democratic Party, Civic Democratic Union, the Christian Democratic Party and the Czech-Moravian Communist party.
The English language
Schedule:
1) Development of English
2) Origins of some English words
3) Influence of English on the other languages
4) British vs. American English
1)
About 3000 B.C. Indo-Europeans moved to entire world. The branch, which moved to Britain, was Celts. The Celts lived alone in the Britain for over 2000 years. Julius Caesar came and he brought new language. Latin. Romans lived in England and Celts lived in Scotland and in Wales and only few words they took over. The Romans left in 410 A.D. and forty years later a new group of people came. They were Anglo-Saxons. The language they brought was the Old English. Latin appeared again in 597 A.D. when St. Augustine brought Christianity to Britain. This time many of Latin words entered Old English.
The invasion started and between 750 and 1050 the Vikings began to attack Britain. From their language the Old Norse the English took over some words. The most important event in the British history is the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when William the Conqueror attacked the islands. After this French words were important part of the English language. People divided into two parts. French speaking were rich and English speaking were the other.
In the next 200 years the English absorbed all new words and changed to the Middle English. In the next century were printed Canterbury Tales. That was very important, because it fixed the grammar and spelling. English was the strong language.
During the Elizabethan age the English spread into the New World (1620). But it wasn’t all. Famous explorer James Cook took the language to Australia. It was the land of the criminals. In the age of Victoria Britain became an important world power and so the language was growing and changing internationally.
2)
Anglo-Saxon – Man, woman, breed, work, eat, house, shire
Latin – school, minister, pope, verse, candle, mass
Old Norse – sky, leg, call, take, Whitby
French – sovereign, court, govern, advice
Latin and Greek – physics, radius, history, architecture, educate, compute
Worldwide – robot, telephone, video, tea
3)
The English language is one of the most spoken languages in the world that means that the English language has a big influence on the other languages. It shows the direction of the development of the other languages. The other languages also take over many words from the English. It is the language, which is used in the entire world as the language for the international communication.
4)
Between the British and the American English are many differences. The main differences are in the spelling, grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.
1) Development of English
2) Origins of some English words
3) Influence of English on the other languages
4) British vs. American English
1)
About 3000 B.C. Indo-Europeans moved to entire world. The branch, which moved to Britain, was Celts. The Celts lived alone in the Britain for over 2000 years. Julius Caesar came and he brought new language. Latin. Romans lived in England and Celts lived in Scotland and in Wales and only few words they took over. The Romans left in 410 A.D. and forty years later a new group of people came. They were Anglo-Saxons. The language they brought was the Old English. Latin appeared again in 597 A.D. when St. Augustine brought Christianity to Britain. This time many of Latin words entered Old English.
The invasion started and between 750 and 1050 the Vikings began to attack Britain. From their language the Old Norse the English took over some words. The most important event in the British history is the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when William the Conqueror attacked the islands. After this French words were important part of the English language. People divided into two parts. French speaking were rich and English speaking were the other.
In the next 200 years the English absorbed all new words and changed to the Middle English. In the next century were printed Canterbury Tales. That was very important, because it fixed the grammar and spelling. English was the strong language.
During the Elizabethan age the English spread into the New World (1620). But it wasn’t all. Famous explorer James Cook took the language to Australia. It was the land of the criminals. In the age of Victoria Britain became an important world power and so the language was growing and changing internationally.
2)
Anglo-Saxon – Man, woman, breed, work, eat, house, shire
Latin – school, minister, pope, verse, candle, mass
Old Norse – sky, leg, call, take, Whitby
French – sovereign, court, govern, advice
Latin and Greek – physics, radius, history, architecture, educate, compute
Worldwide – robot, telephone, video, tea
3)
The English language is one of the most spoken languages in the world that means that the English language has a big influence on the other languages. It shows the direction of the development of the other languages. The other languages also take over many words from the English. It is the language, which is used in the entire world as the language for the international communication.
4)
Between the British and the American English are many differences. The main differences are in the spelling, grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.
The USA
Schedule:
1) Basic facts and Geography, Climate
2) History
3) National symbols
4) Political system
5) Places of interest
1)
The USA extend over one third of the North America continent. The USA has an area over 9,370,000 square kilometres and population is about 285,000,000 inhabitants. The population consist of many nationalities. 80% of inhabitants are white, 12% African –Americans, 3% Asian/Pacific islanders, 1% Eskimo and about 9% Hispanics. The capital is Washington D.C. and national currency is American Dollar. The official spoken language is the English and the nonofficial the Spain.
The USA is the fourth largest country of the world after Russia, Canada and China.
The USA is bordered by Canada in the North, by Mexico in the South, by The Pacific Ocean in the west and by The Atlantic Ocean in the east. The country is divided into four main areas. The Appalachian Highlands are geologically the oldest. It is situated in the east south part of continent. The Interior Plains also called The Mississippi Basin can be found to the west form The Appalachian Highlands. It includes Lowlands, Central Plains and Great Plains. Cordilleras occupies about half of continent in the west. They can be divided into the several parts: The Rocky Mountains, Great Basin where is the lowest point in the USA-Death Valley (85 metres below sea level). The Colorado Plateau with famous Grand Canyon is also part of The Rocky Mountains. In the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada there is situated the highest peak of the continental USA Mt. Whitney (4418m) but the highest point of USA is Mt. McKinley in Alaska (6194m).
The USA has also many rivers. Here are the most important. The Mississippi and Missouri are the biggest river system. The most important river is the Hudson. The Hudson is the connection with The Great Lakes. The St Lawrence connects The Great Lakes with The Atlantic Ocean. The biggest river in Alaska is The Yukon
The Great Lakes make the border with Canada. They are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They together cover about 250,000 sq. kilometres.
The Climate of the USA is varied from the Arctic climate in the north to the subtropical climate in the south. There is a great difference between the climate on the Pacific coast, which is worm and summers and winters are not so different. The Atlantic coast is cold.
The Hawaiian Islands has tropical climate.
2)
History of the USA begun in 1492, when Christopher Columbus reached the coast of Bahamas Islands. From October 12, 1492 to July, 1776 North America was a colonial land to many western countries. People moved there because they were looking for resources and because of religion. They also wanted to find gold, but they found out many others sources such as potatoes, beans, corn, and tobacco. The explorers established settlements and first colonies were created. (e.g.: French –Louisiana, 1607-Dutch – New Amsterdam, British – New England, etc…
The resources were carried to Europe, there they were worked and goods were moved back to America. They have to pay for that very expensive goods. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was the first public protest against importing goods.
The War for Independence begun and it was finished on July 4, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed by 13 colonies that fought in the war. The authors of the document are Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. The first president was George Washington. During 1788 the new Constitution has been created. The USA was divided into two parts. The North, which was industrial and The South, which was agriculture. In the South there was common to use slaves for the work on the plantings, but in the North wasn’t. Later the USA was divided also politically because of coming more and more immigrants. The North afraid that the slave power becomes dominant in the whole nation. So there was formed a new party of Republicans in the North, who wanted to abolish slavery. The South supported Democrats. Abraham Lincoln took a strong anti-slavery stand. This caused that Carolina and more 10 states broke away form The Union and formed Confederate States of America. The Civil War was form 1860 to 1865, when Southern General Lee surrounded his forces to the Union General Grant.
In 1862 President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which emancipated all the slaves. The black were declared free in the 13-15th amendments to the Constitution and they were given the right to vote.
3)
National symbols (Flag, National anthem, Sea Eagle, In God we trust)
The Flag of the United States popularly called The American (Star and Stripes) Flag is the national emblem of The USA. It consists of 13 horizontal stripes 7 red and 6 white and upper rectangular blue field with 50 white stars. The stripes symbolises 13 colonies, which signed The Declaration of Independence. The stars represent 50 states of The Union.
The white colour signifies purity, red valour and hardiness and blue signifies justice.
Golden Eagle is a symbol of courage and power because of its large size, superb aerial skills, and the inaccessibility of many of its nest sites, in wild and mountainous country.
National anthem – Star-Spangled Banner was approved as a national anthem on March 3, 1931. Francis Scott Key wrote the text of the anthem on the board of a British frigate. The sight on the waving flag every morning inspired him to write the poem. This poem soon became very popular. Later in 1931 it became a national anthem
4)
Political system
Under the system of Checks and Balances the federal government is composed of three branches. The legislative represented by Congress, the Executive represented by the President and the Executive office and the Judicial represented by the Supreme Court and all other Federal Courts.
Congress comprises two bodies the Senate and the House of Representatives. They are responsible for drafting and passing laws, settings and collecting taxes, etc…The Senate is composed of 100 Senators (two for each state). Senators are elected for 6 years and every second year one third of the Senators is renewed.
The House is composed of 435 Representatives. The number of the Representatives is based on the population of each state. Members of House are changed after two years. The House is responsible for originating all bills relating to taxes and determining the outcome of a presidential election if there’s no clear electoral majority.
The President and Vice President are only elected officials of the Executive branch. Presidential elections are held every four years and President can be elected maximally two times. President has to be at least 35 years old. President serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, but the declaration of was must be made by Congress. President is also representing the country around the world. The executive branch comprises the President’s personal staff called Executive Office. –14 cabinet departments
The smallest branch is the Judiciary interprets the law of the land. It is composed by three-level hierarchy- Federal district courts, US courts of appeal and the US Supreme court. President appoints judges at all three levels and the Senate must confirm them.
5)
Washington D.C.
Washington D.C. is situated at the Atlantic metropolitan belt. The abbreviation D.C. means District of Columbia, which was established by Congress in 1790. The city is situated on the Potomac River. The D.C. is the seat of the federal government of the United Sates. The plan of the city was created by the French architect Pierre L’Enfant. Maryland and Virginia gave the land for the District. It was originally square 10 miles on each side. The corners were oriented north-south and east-west. Washington is the most lucid city in USA. The US Capitol is situated exactly at the centre. The North-south streets are numbered from the Capitol and the east-west streets are lettered from the Capitol. The streets are perpendicular themselves.
Washington has many imposing buildings. The Capitol and the White House are the most historic. The Capitol consists of two parts, the Senate Wing and the House of Representatives Wing. White House is presidents’ residence. In 1800 John Adams was the first president who occupied the residence.
Other places of interest are e.g. Washington Monument. It’s the white marble obelisk rises in the middle of the Mall. Jefferson Memorial is the adaptation of the ancient Roman Pantheon. The open-air interior of the Monument is dominated by the bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson holding The Declaration of Independence. Lincoln Memorial was inspired by Greek architecture. The famous statue of George Washington stands in front of the Memorial.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the wall in a form of letter V engraved with names of those 58,000 killed or missing in the Vietnam War. Arlington National Cemetery is the country’s most revered burial, which contains graves of over 200,000 military and their dependents. Two of US presidents are buried there: President W. H. Taft and President John F. Kennedy.
New York City
New York is the largest and the most populated city in USA. New York can be divided into five parts: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island (Richmond). The city is situated on the River Hudson. The first European who entered New York was Giovanni da Verrazano. He was followed by Henry Hudson who named the Hudson River. In 1624 was established New Amsterdam by the Dutch. The island was bought form Indians for 24 dollars.
In 1664 New Amsterdam became an English colony and it was renamed to New York In 1886 the Statue of Liberty was built into the harbour. At the turn of 20th century the first skyscrapers begun to appear. In the begun of the new century New York is known as a city of skyscrapers. The most famous World Trade Centre (twin tower) built in 1973 was destroyed on September 11,2001 by terrorist attack.
Also as in Washington, New York has many imposing buildings. The world known Wall Street is the first stock in entire world created in 1792. Madison Square named after James Madison, was established as a park in 1811. Madison Square Garden Centre was built in 1968 and it’s a place of cultural and sports events. Probably the most famous building in the New York is the Empire State building. It is the one of the highest buildings in the world. It has 102 stories and it’s 381 metres high.
Other places of interest in the USA are NASA – Kennedy Space Centre’s Spaceport, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, the Great Lakes area with Niagara Falls, etc…
1) Basic facts and Geography, Climate
2) History
3) National symbols
4) Political system
5) Places of interest
1)
The USA extend over one third of the North America continent. The USA has an area over 9,370,000 square kilometres and population is about 285,000,000 inhabitants. The population consist of many nationalities. 80% of inhabitants are white, 12% African –Americans, 3% Asian/Pacific islanders, 1% Eskimo and about 9% Hispanics. The capital is Washington D.C. and national currency is American Dollar. The official spoken language is the English and the nonofficial the Spain.
The USA is the fourth largest country of the world after Russia, Canada and China.
The USA is bordered by Canada in the North, by Mexico in the South, by The Pacific Ocean in the west and by The Atlantic Ocean in the east. The country is divided into four main areas. The Appalachian Highlands are geologically the oldest. It is situated in the east south part of continent. The Interior Plains also called The Mississippi Basin can be found to the west form The Appalachian Highlands. It includes Lowlands, Central Plains and Great Plains. Cordilleras occupies about half of continent in the west. They can be divided into the several parts: The Rocky Mountains, Great Basin where is the lowest point in the USA-Death Valley (85 metres below sea level). The Colorado Plateau with famous Grand Canyon is also part of The Rocky Mountains. In the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada there is situated the highest peak of the continental USA Mt. Whitney (4418m) but the highest point of USA is Mt. McKinley in Alaska (6194m).
The USA has also many rivers. Here are the most important. The Mississippi and Missouri are the biggest river system. The most important river is the Hudson. The Hudson is the connection with The Great Lakes. The St Lawrence connects The Great Lakes with The Atlantic Ocean. The biggest river in Alaska is The Yukon
The Great Lakes make the border with Canada. They are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They together cover about 250,000 sq. kilometres.
The Climate of the USA is varied from the Arctic climate in the north to the subtropical climate in the south. There is a great difference between the climate on the Pacific coast, which is worm and summers and winters are not so different. The Atlantic coast is cold.
The Hawaiian Islands has tropical climate.
2)
History of the USA begun in 1492, when Christopher Columbus reached the coast of Bahamas Islands. From October 12, 1492 to July, 1776 North America was a colonial land to many western countries. People moved there because they were looking for resources and because of religion. They also wanted to find gold, but they found out many others sources such as potatoes, beans, corn, and tobacco. The explorers established settlements and first colonies were created. (e.g.: French –Louisiana, 1607-Dutch – New Amsterdam, British – New England, etc…
The resources were carried to Europe, there they were worked and goods were moved back to America. They have to pay for that very expensive goods. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was the first public protest against importing goods.
The War for Independence begun and it was finished on July 4, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed by 13 colonies that fought in the war. The authors of the document are Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. The first president was George Washington. During 1788 the new Constitution has been created. The USA was divided into two parts. The North, which was industrial and The South, which was agriculture. In the South there was common to use slaves for the work on the plantings, but in the North wasn’t. Later the USA was divided also politically because of coming more and more immigrants. The North afraid that the slave power becomes dominant in the whole nation. So there was formed a new party of Republicans in the North, who wanted to abolish slavery. The South supported Democrats. Abraham Lincoln took a strong anti-slavery stand. This caused that Carolina and more 10 states broke away form The Union and formed Confederate States of America. The Civil War was form 1860 to 1865, when Southern General Lee surrounded his forces to the Union General Grant.
In 1862 President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which emancipated all the slaves. The black were declared free in the 13-15th amendments to the Constitution and they were given the right to vote.
3)
National symbols (Flag, National anthem, Sea Eagle, In God we trust)
The Flag of the United States popularly called The American (Star and Stripes) Flag is the national emblem of The USA. It consists of 13 horizontal stripes 7 red and 6 white and upper rectangular blue field with 50 white stars. The stripes symbolises 13 colonies, which signed The Declaration of Independence. The stars represent 50 states of The Union.
The white colour signifies purity, red valour and hardiness and blue signifies justice.
Golden Eagle is a symbol of courage and power because of its large size, superb aerial skills, and the inaccessibility of many of its nest sites, in wild and mountainous country.
National anthem – Star-Spangled Banner was approved as a national anthem on March 3, 1931. Francis Scott Key wrote the text of the anthem on the board of a British frigate. The sight on the waving flag every morning inspired him to write the poem. This poem soon became very popular. Later in 1931 it became a national anthem
4)
Political system
Under the system of Checks and Balances the federal government is composed of three branches. The legislative represented by Congress, the Executive represented by the President and the Executive office and the Judicial represented by the Supreme Court and all other Federal Courts.
Congress comprises two bodies the Senate and the House of Representatives. They are responsible for drafting and passing laws, settings and collecting taxes, etc…The Senate is composed of 100 Senators (two for each state). Senators are elected for 6 years and every second year one third of the Senators is renewed.
The House is composed of 435 Representatives. The number of the Representatives is based on the population of each state. Members of House are changed after two years. The House is responsible for originating all bills relating to taxes and determining the outcome of a presidential election if there’s no clear electoral majority.
The President and Vice President are only elected officials of the Executive branch. Presidential elections are held every four years and President can be elected maximally two times. President has to be at least 35 years old. President serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, but the declaration of was must be made by Congress. President is also representing the country around the world. The executive branch comprises the President’s personal staff called Executive Office. –14 cabinet departments
The smallest branch is the Judiciary interprets the law of the land. It is composed by three-level hierarchy- Federal district courts, US courts of appeal and the US Supreme court. President appoints judges at all three levels and the Senate must confirm them.
5)
Washington D.C.
Washington D.C. is situated at the Atlantic metropolitan belt. The abbreviation D.C. means District of Columbia, which was established by Congress in 1790. The city is situated on the Potomac River. The D.C. is the seat of the federal government of the United Sates. The plan of the city was created by the French architect Pierre L’Enfant. Maryland and Virginia gave the land for the District. It was originally square 10 miles on each side. The corners were oriented north-south and east-west. Washington is the most lucid city in USA. The US Capitol is situated exactly at the centre. The North-south streets are numbered from the Capitol and the east-west streets are lettered from the Capitol. The streets are perpendicular themselves.
Washington has many imposing buildings. The Capitol and the White House are the most historic. The Capitol consists of two parts, the Senate Wing and the House of Representatives Wing. White House is presidents’ residence. In 1800 John Adams was the first president who occupied the residence.
Other places of interest are e.g. Washington Monument. It’s the white marble obelisk rises in the middle of the Mall. Jefferson Memorial is the adaptation of the ancient Roman Pantheon. The open-air interior of the Monument is dominated by the bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson holding The Declaration of Independence. Lincoln Memorial was inspired by Greek architecture. The famous statue of George Washington stands in front of the Memorial.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the wall in a form of letter V engraved with names of those 58,000 killed or missing in the Vietnam War. Arlington National Cemetery is the country’s most revered burial, which contains graves of over 200,000 military and their dependents. Two of US presidents are buried there: President W. H. Taft and President John F. Kennedy.
New York City
New York is the largest and the most populated city in USA. New York can be divided into five parts: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island (Richmond). The city is situated on the River Hudson. The first European who entered New York was Giovanni da Verrazano. He was followed by Henry Hudson who named the Hudson River. In 1624 was established New Amsterdam by the Dutch. The island was bought form Indians for 24 dollars.
In 1664 New Amsterdam became an English colony and it was renamed to New York In 1886 the Statue of Liberty was built into the harbour. At the turn of 20th century the first skyscrapers begun to appear. In the begun of the new century New York is known as a city of skyscrapers. The most famous World Trade Centre (twin tower) built in 1973 was destroyed on September 11,2001 by terrorist attack.
Also as in Washington, New York has many imposing buildings. The world known Wall Street is the first stock in entire world created in 1792. Madison Square named after James Madison, was established as a park in 1811. Madison Square Garden Centre was built in 1968 and it’s a place of cultural and sports events. Probably the most famous building in the New York is the Empire State building. It is the one of the highest buildings in the world. It has 102 stories and it’s 381 metres high.
Other places of interest in the USA are NASA – Kennedy Space Centre’s Spaceport, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, the Great Lakes area with Niagara Falls, etc…
Travelling
Schedule:
1) Various reasons for travelling (past vs. present)
2) Means of transport – land , air, water
3) Advantages and disadvantages of each one
4) Quality of public transport
5) Development of modern transport
6) Reasons why tourists come to our country – places of interest
1)
People travel in order to reach places that are far away; maybe they travel for fun or from necessity. Travelling takes up more time in our live than we can imagine. Everyday we travel to school, to work, to go shopping or visiting friends.
2)
In the past travelling had similar cause to now days. People in the past wanted to go somewhere or move something somewhere. But the kinds of transport were not as much advanced and colourful as now days.
In the present there are two main means of transport. It is our mean of transport or public transportation services. People can transport goods or themselves by land, air or by water.
3)
The main fact that speaks for water transport are small costs. That’s why the rivers, seas and oceans are filled with cargos and passengers vessels. The advantage is that you can take as much luggage as you want to take. Not many people have the courage to board on the ship because they can become seasick.
Going by air consumes huge sums of money but it is the fastest and very comfortable. The air transportation system is strictly dependent on the timetable. At the airport we go through the passport control then security checks our luggage, then we board the plane and wait until the plane take off. When we are lucky our flight is cancelled or postponed.
Travelling on the land is very variable. Cars and motorbikes are expensive to purchase and you have to pay for the petrol, which costs a lot of money too. The advantage of the cars is that it can take you almost anywhere in any time. Modern cars have a lot of space for luggage and seats are so soft that sometimes it is more comfortable than go on a plane. For use the car you have to have a driving license so you have to know Highway Code. The Highway Code is different in Britain and in the USA where people drive on the left.
4)
In the huge cities is more advantageous to use public transport. Public transport is cheaper, but it is less comfortable. The network of the bus and railway stations covers most inhabited places. An ordinary railway station looks like this: Big hall with ticket office, where you can buy a ticket (single, return or the seat reservation), board with departures and arrivals, a left luggage office or lockers, telephones, restaurant and under passage directly to the platform. You can get in the train and find the place to sit down. If it’s all occupied you have to stay or find a seat on the stairs. During the journey you can play cards, talk with other passengers or sleep. During the journey the conductor comes to check the tickets. In the Britain there are no conductors and you hand over your ticket to a ticket controller before leaving the platform.
In big cities we can use underground to transport. It is very advantageous, because if you go by bus you can get to the traffic jam. But in the underground there is nothing like this
.5)
The technique is changing constantly and transport too. The factories try to make cars which are more comfortable and safe than ever in the pass. Now days the cars have the main computer which monitors everything form your seat belts, doors and it also has the GPS system which can navigate you.
If you fly a plane you only programme the autopilot and then you can only the functions. The planes are able to land without the intervention of human being. But planes are too old and in soon future we will travel in the space. The first space tourist has already been sent. But this kind of transport is maybe the most expensive in the world.
6)
Our country is one of the most visited countries in the Europe. We have colourful history and our capital and others cities are beautiful. Tourists come to sea that part of history that they don’t have in their country, E.g. the Americans. They say that we have cheap beer and beautiful women. Some of the foreigners come to see our history and places of interest.
Weather, time, seasons
Weather is a good conversational topic, very popular in the Britain, because it is impersonal. Britain has mostly mild and moderate climate. Winters are not so cold and summers are not so hot. The climate can change form minute to minute.
West coast of USA has warm climate and the most of year is sunny. The coast is influenced by the Pacific Ocean climate. East coast has moderate climate influenced by the Atlantic Ocean.
The Czech Republic has a moderate continental climate. The year is divided into four parts spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each season has about three months and has it own beauty.
Spring begins on 21st March, which is also a day of a spring equinox. The days get longer and the night is shorter. Spring and summer are the most beautiful seasons of the year. Nature wakes up after the winter and people fall in love and we have summer holiday. The weather in spring especially in April is unpredictable and very changeable. The temperatures usually fluctuate around the zero at night and during the day it can rise above the zero and sometimes up to ten degrees. It is the time of many rainfalls, but if it clears up the air is fresh and people enjoy good weather.
Summer begins on 21st June, a day of a summer solstice and the day is longest in the year. People are more interested in weather, because they set out on journeys and plan their holidays. The temperatures rise above 25 °C. Early in the morning the sky is bright and clear and no wind blows. If the rain comes it is usually in a form of storm or shower. The storm is followed with the thunder, lightning and heavy downpour. Every man who stands out is wet to the skin. It is very dangerous to stand under the trees, because when the lightning hit it, it may wound you. Sometimes when the sun is shining during the shower, there is a rainbow after it. Summer is also the time of for strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and cranberries and it is a time of the harvest of corn.
At the beginning of the September exactly on 23rd September the summer is over. This is also a day of autumn equinox. The nights are longer and days get shorter. It is a time of harvest. We pick apples, pears and plumbs and we are gathering potatoes. The trees and grass are changing. The stalks go yellow and gets dry. The leaves go yellow, brown and fall. It is a time of mushrooming. Birds set off the journey to the south. The days are cloudy and it often rains. Temperatures drop down, the weather is gloomy, rainy and it goes chilly. The mornings are sometimes foggy. Also the behaviour of people is changing. They are irritable and it is a time of many diseases.
Winter comes on 21st December, the day of winter equinox. The night is longest in the year. Typical winter weather brings snowfalls. The view from the top of the mountain down to the valley on the white trees is absolutely wonderful. The temperatures sometimes drop 20 degrees below the freezing point. The roads become icy and slippery and it is very dangerous to go by car.
During the last fifty years the have temperatures and climate changed a lot. The winters in the moderate climate belt are warmer and summers are colder. The places with the highest points of rainfalls became wetter and the driest places become more and drier. Man is only being who is responsible for all of this. The main cause is pollution and greenhouse effect. Thanks to that the average earth temperature has risen about 0,6 °C during last fifty years.
West coast of USA has warm climate and the most of year is sunny. The coast is influenced by the Pacific Ocean climate. East coast has moderate climate influenced by the Atlantic Ocean.
The Czech Republic has a moderate continental climate. The year is divided into four parts spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each season has about three months and has it own beauty.
Spring begins on 21st March, which is also a day of a spring equinox. The days get longer and the night is shorter. Spring and summer are the most beautiful seasons of the year. Nature wakes up after the winter and people fall in love and we have summer holiday. The weather in spring especially in April is unpredictable and very changeable. The temperatures usually fluctuate around the zero at night and during the day it can rise above the zero and sometimes up to ten degrees. It is the time of many rainfalls, but if it clears up the air is fresh and people enjoy good weather.
Summer begins on 21st June, a day of a summer solstice and the day is longest in the year. People are more interested in weather, because they set out on journeys and plan their holidays. The temperatures rise above 25 °C. Early in the morning the sky is bright and clear and no wind blows. If the rain comes it is usually in a form of storm or shower. The storm is followed with the thunder, lightning and heavy downpour. Every man who stands out is wet to the skin. It is very dangerous to stand under the trees, because when the lightning hit it, it may wound you. Sometimes when the sun is shining during the shower, there is a rainbow after it. Summer is also the time of for strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and cranberries and it is a time of the harvest of corn.
At the beginning of the September exactly on 23rd September the summer is over. This is also a day of autumn equinox. The nights are longer and days get shorter. It is a time of harvest. We pick apples, pears and plumbs and we are gathering potatoes. The trees and grass are changing. The stalks go yellow and gets dry. The leaves go yellow, brown and fall. It is a time of mushrooming. Birds set off the journey to the south. The days are cloudy and it often rains. Temperatures drop down, the weather is gloomy, rainy and it goes chilly. The mornings are sometimes foggy. Also the behaviour of people is changing. They are irritable and it is a time of many diseases.
Winter comes on 21st December, the day of winter equinox. The night is longest in the year. Typical winter weather brings snowfalls. The view from the top of the mountain down to the valley on the white trees is absolutely wonderful. The temperatures sometimes drop 20 degrees below the freezing point. The roads become icy and slippery and it is very dangerous to go by car.
During the last fifty years the have temperatures and climate changed a lot. The winters in the moderate climate belt are warmer and summers are colder. The places with the highest points of rainfalls became wetter and the driest places become more and drier. Man is only being who is responsible for all of this. The main cause is pollution and greenhouse effect. Thanks to that the average earth temperature has risen about 0,6 °C during last fifty years.
William Shakespeare
He was born on 23rd April 1564 at Stratford-upon-Avon. His father was merchant. At the age of seven he started attending local grammar school. At eighteen he married Anne Hathaway from nearby village Shottery. She was eight years older and already pregnant. After the wedding their first child had been born. It was their first daughter Susanna. Then they had twins the boy Hamnet and the girl Judith.
Until the year 1592 there are almost no records about him. But we know that in this year he was already established actor and playwright in London. In 1594 he joined to Lord Chamberlain’s Men and working there as leading actor and dramatist. In 1599 the company built their own theatre, The Globe in which Shakespeare shared the profits. For the next decade the Globe was leading theatre. Many famous plays were written and acted there. Queen Elizabeth I. and her son James I. showed the company many favours.
But there was a disaster in 1613. During the performance Henry VIII. the Globe was destroyed by the fire. Lord Chamberlain’s Men already renamed to the King’s Men had leased other smaller theatre, The Blackfriars. This theatre was indoor unlike the Globe, which was outdoor. This theatre allowed performing the scenic effects, that caused rising of spectaculars.
Before, in 1612 Shakespeare had returned home, because his son Hamnet had died. They lived at New Place, which was the second largest house in Stratford. There he spent the last years of his life. In 1613 he bought the Blackfriars. Shakespeare died on 23rd April 1616 and he is buried at Trinity Church.
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays divided into four groups. They are the comedies, the tragedies, the historical plays and the romances.
COMEDIES TRAGEDIE ROMANCES HISTORICAL PLAYS
The Taming of the Shrew Romeo and Juliet The Winter’s Tale Henry IV. I. II.
As you like it Hamlet The Tempest Julius Caesar
Twelfth Night King Lear Pericles
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Othello
Macbeth
Shakespeare also wrote poetry, the sonnets. (The Rape of Lucrece, Venus and Adonis)
Hamlet
Hamlet, the son of the Denmark king, learns about the death of his father. The ghost tells him that he has been poisoned by spill the poison into the ear. To make it sure, Hamlet pretends madness and tests the ghost’s story by having a play, which resembles to the murder of his father. Nobody guesses why he goes bananas. The prepared play is acted before the new king, who betrays himself. He decides to destroy Hamlet and he sends him to
England to have him killed there. But Hamlet returns and plays the end of the story into a bloody vengeance when almost everyone dies. – Hamlet, the King, Hamlet’s mother…
King Lear
King Lear had three daughters. He decided to divide his kingdom among them and he asked them to tell him who of them loved him the best. The two elder ones told him that they loved him above all, but that was not true. Cordelia, who really loved him, said that she would give a half of her love to him and a half to her future husband. King Lear became very angry and drove her away from home. Too late the king realized that both two daughters hadn’t told him the truth. They get rid of him and the old king wet mad. Cordelia, who married the king of France came to England with the army to help father. But both King Lear and Cordelia were made prisoners and she was put to death by her sisters. Then King Lear had the heart broke and he died too.
Until the year 1592 there are almost no records about him. But we know that in this year he was already established actor and playwright in London. In 1594 he joined to Lord Chamberlain’s Men and working there as leading actor and dramatist. In 1599 the company built their own theatre, The Globe in which Shakespeare shared the profits. For the next decade the Globe was leading theatre. Many famous plays were written and acted there. Queen Elizabeth I. and her son James I. showed the company many favours.
But there was a disaster in 1613. During the performance Henry VIII. the Globe was destroyed by the fire. Lord Chamberlain’s Men already renamed to the King’s Men had leased other smaller theatre, The Blackfriars. This theatre was indoor unlike the Globe, which was outdoor. This theatre allowed performing the scenic effects, that caused rising of spectaculars.
Before, in 1612 Shakespeare had returned home, because his son Hamnet had died. They lived at New Place, which was the second largest house in Stratford. There he spent the last years of his life. In 1613 he bought the Blackfriars. Shakespeare died on 23rd April 1616 and he is buried at Trinity Church.
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays divided into four groups. They are the comedies, the tragedies, the historical plays and the romances.
COMEDIES TRAGEDIE ROMANCES HISTORICAL PLAYS
The Taming of the Shrew Romeo and Juliet The Winter’s Tale Henry IV. I. II.
As you like it Hamlet The Tempest Julius Caesar
Twelfth Night King Lear Pericles
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Othello
Macbeth
Shakespeare also wrote poetry, the sonnets. (The Rape of Lucrece, Venus and Adonis)
Hamlet
Hamlet, the son of the Denmark king, learns about the death of his father. The ghost tells him that he has been poisoned by spill the poison into the ear. To make it sure, Hamlet pretends madness and tests the ghost’s story by having a play, which resembles to the murder of his father. Nobody guesses why he goes bananas. The prepared play is acted before the new king, who betrays himself. He decides to destroy Hamlet and he sends him to
England to have him killed there. But Hamlet returns and plays the end of the story into a bloody vengeance when almost everyone dies. – Hamlet, the King, Hamlet’s mother…
King Lear
King Lear had three daughters. He decided to divide his kingdom among them and he asked them to tell him who of them loved him the best. The two elder ones told him that they loved him above all, but that was not true. Cordelia, who really loved him, said that she would give a half of her love to him and a half to her future husband. King Lear became very angry and drove her away from home. Too late the king realized that both two daughters hadn’t told him the truth. They get rid of him and the old king wet mad. Cordelia, who married the king of France came to England with the army to help father. But both King Lear and Cordelia were made prisoners and she was put to death by her sisters. Then King Lear had the heart broke and he died too.
Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)
One of the most considerable authors in England, leader of the Aesthetic movement of the Eighties and Nineties, speaker, philosopher, poet and dramatist. He fascinated and also disgusted victorian human society with his opinions and his behaviour. He was bohemian, had inclinations to homosexuality, wrote with an undertone of satire. He wrote collections of fairy - tales The Happy Prince and Other Tales, A House of Pomegranates; collections of stories Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Canterville Ghost. Decadent theatre play Salome was originally written in French. The other theatre plays are An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. This one is the most popular. He also wrote three collections of poetry, his Ballad of Reading Gaol is a magnificent work. His only novel, A Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890 and is his most interesting work. We can say that A Picture of Dorian Gray is a picture of Wilde’s soul.
A Picture of Dorian Gray
Talented painter Basil Hallward got acquainted with a very beautiful young gentleman Dorian Gray. He was fascinated with him, with his intelligence and appearance and couldn’t live without his presence. Hallward started to paint him and one day introduced Dorian to his friend, cynical and sarcastic lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry’s philosophy of life and living influenced Dorian a lot, so in the fit of vanity he said: "I wish I could be young and beautiful all my life, forever. I wish for the picture, which had been painted by Basil, could grow old instead of me." This Dorian’s wish came true...
Dorian fell in love with young and talented actress Sibyla Vane, mainly with her perfect expression of Shakespeare’s heroines. When she couldn’t performed love on the stage, because she experienced it, Dorian was disappointed and desert her. Sibyla was very desperate and so she committed suicide. Dorian started a decadent way of his life, his only aim was to enjoy beauty and delights. His face stayed young and beautiful in the same way as when he was twenty years old, but his picture grew old and became more and more ugly, in accordance with the number of how many young and promising boys brought he to ruin and how many girls’ hearts broke he.
One day Basil visited him, and when he attempted to improve Dorian’s soul, Dorian killed him in the fit of rage. But he had big remorses and so he decided to destroy his picture. He took the knife and cut the picture.
When servants opened the room, on the wall hung the picture of beautiful, young boy and on the floor lay ugly, old dead body. As they found, this wreck was Dorian Gray.
One of the most considerable authors in England, leader of the Aesthetic movement of the Eighties and Nineties, speaker, philosopher, poet and dramatist. He fascinated and also disgusted victorian human society with his opinions and his behaviour. He was bohemian, had inclinations to homosexuality, wrote with an undertone of satire. He wrote collections of fairy - tales The Happy Prince and Other Tales, A House of Pomegranates; collections of stories Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Canterville Ghost. Decadent theatre play Salome was originally written in French. The other theatre plays are An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. This one is the most popular. He also wrote three collections of poetry, his Ballad of Reading Gaol is a magnificent work. His only novel, A Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890 and is his most interesting work. We can say that A Picture of Dorian Gray is a picture of Wilde’s soul.
A Picture of Dorian Gray
Talented painter Basil Hallward got acquainted with a very beautiful young gentleman Dorian Gray. He was fascinated with him, with his intelligence and appearance and couldn’t live without his presence. Hallward started to paint him and one day introduced Dorian to his friend, cynical and sarcastic lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry’s philosophy of life and living influenced Dorian a lot, so in the fit of vanity he said: "I wish I could be young and beautiful all my life, forever. I wish for the picture, which had been painted by Basil, could grow old instead of me." This Dorian’s wish came true...
Dorian fell in love with young and talented actress Sibyla Vane, mainly with her perfect expression of Shakespeare’s heroines. When she couldn’t performed love on the stage, because she experienced it, Dorian was disappointed and desert her. Sibyla was very desperate and so she committed suicide. Dorian started a decadent way of his life, his only aim was to enjoy beauty and delights. His face stayed young and beautiful in the same way as when he was twenty years old, but his picture grew old and became more and more ugly, in accordance with the number of how many young and promising boys brought he to ruin and how many girls’ hearts broke he.
One day Basil visited him, and when he attempted to improve Dorian’s soul, Dorian killed him in the fit of rage. But he had big remorses and so he decided to destroy his picture. He took the knife and cut the picture.
When servants opened the room, on the wall hung the picture of beautiful, young boy and on the floor lay ugly, old dead body. As they found, this wreck was Dorian Gray.
Family and Family Life
(description of a family, differences between the live of the old and young, relationship with parents and grandparents, social changes)
1) Members of my nuclear family
• (name, age, job, what is he/she like, what does he/she look like, favourite sports, clothes etc.)
• me
• father
• mother
2) Relatives
• brother, sister-in-law, niece
• grandfather, grandmother
• uncle, aunt [a:nt], cousins
3) My biography [bajougrafy]
• age
• basic school
• accepted at grammar school
• applied to which universities
• interested in what
• my dream family...
4) House and housework
• family house / flat, with / without garden, with / without domestic animals
• sometimes have to help – cutting grass, cleaning the house, vacuum my room
• weekend house, for recreation
• brother’s / sister’s family
5) Differences in living
• CZ: generations live together, old help young (finance, children)
• GB: members of old generation are moving to isolated farms, have small retired pays; independent children
• USA: since university children get money, must economically work with them; social benefit rent from state
• social changes: aging of population, too many pensioners, economical problems
1) Members of my nuclear family
• (name, age, job, what is he/she like, what does he/she look like, favourite sports, clothes etc.)
• me
• father
• mother
2) Relatives
• brother, sister-in-law, niece
• grandfather, grandmother
• uncle, aunt [a:nt], cousins
3) My biography [bajougrafy]
• age
• basic school
• accepted at grammar school
• applied to which universities
• interested in what
• my dream family...
4) House and housework
• family house / flat, with / without garden, with / without domestic animals
• sometimes have to help – cutting grass, cleaning the house, vacuum my room
• weekend house, for recreation
• brother’s / sister’s family
5) Differences in living
• CZ: generations live together, old help young (finance, children)
• GB: members of old generation are moving to isolated farms, have small retired pays; independent children
• USA: since university children get money, must economically work with them; social benefit rent from state
• social changes: aging of population, too many pensioners, economical problems
School System
School System in the Czech Republic, Great Britain and The USA
(school attendance, favourite subjects, importance of education, British and American systems of education, future plans)
1) About schools
• in CR compulsory attendance from the age of 6 to 15
• school year divided into two terms (September – January, February – June)
• start at 8, lesson 45 minutes long, break 10 or 20 minutes long
• marks from 1 to 5, school report for each term
2) Grades of education
• pre-school education
o créches, 1 – 3 years
o kindergartens, 3 – 6 years
• primary education, compulsory
o 1st degree, 1st to 5th class, four R’s – reading, writing, arithmetic, drawing
o 2nd degree, 6th to 9th class, Czech grammar and literature, English or German, history, geography,
mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, civics, PE, music education, drawing
o special classes on 2nd degree – mathematical, sporting
• secondary education
o grammar schools
general education for university studying
o secondary special schools
secondary technical school of civil engineering, of machinery
secondary schools for health workers, of agriculture
academies of commerce
o apprentice training centres
training for practical jobs
• tertiary education
o universities and colleges, lasts 4 to 6 years
o Charles University in Prague, Masaryk University in Brno, Technical University of Brno
o can study economists, foreign trade, architecture, law, journalism, the humanities, foreign languages,
medicine, science, music, art, drama, engineering, computer science, ...
o three degrees (medicine in sum 6 years)
bachelor’s degree (3 years)
master’s degree (2 years)
doctoral degree (individual)
3) Education in GB
• primary from 5th to 10th year
• secondary begins at the age of 11
• “sixth form”, GCSE exams (General Certificate of Secondary Education)
• universities (student must have >2 good grades at A-level of GCSE), e. g. Oxford, Cambridge
4) Education in the USA
• elementary schools from 6th to 12th year
• Junior High School (from 12 to 15), Senior High School (from 15 to 18)
• over 2000 universities and colleges, e. g. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Caltech
5) Attended schools and my plans
• basic school
• accepted at grammar school
• would like to pass graduation exams at grammar school
• would like to study which university, for master’s degree
(school attendance, favourite subjects, importance of education, British and American systems of education, future plans)
1) About schools
• in CR compulsory attendance from the age of 6 to 15
• school year divided into two terms (September – January, February – June)
• start at 8, lesson 45 minutes long, break 10 or 20 minutes long
• marks from 1 to 5, school report for each term
2) Grades of education
• pre-school education
o créches, 1 – 3 years
o kindergartens, 3 – 6 years
• primary education, compulsory
o 1st degree, 1st to 5th class, four R’s – reading, writing, arithmetic, drawing
o 2nd degree, 6th to 9th class, Czech grammar and literature, English or German, history, geography,
mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, civics, PE, music education, drawing
o special classes on 2nd degree – mathematical, sporting
• secondary education
o grammar schools
general education for university studying
o secondary special schools
secondary technical school of civil engineering, of machinery
secondary schools for health workers, of agriculture
academies of commerce
o apprentice training centres
training for practical jobs
• tertiary education
o universities and colleges, lasts 4 to 6 years
o Charles University in Prague, Masaryk University in Brno, Technical University of Brno
o can study economists, foreign trade, architecture, law, journalism, the humanities, foreign languages,
medicine, science, music, art, drama, engineering, computer science, ...
o three degrees (medicine in sum 6 years)
bachelor’s degree (3 years)
master’s degree (2 years)
doctoral degree (individual)
3) Education in GB
• primary from 5th to 10th year
• secondary begins at the age of 11
• “sixth form”, GCSE exams (General Certificate of Secondary Education)
• universities (student must have >2 good grades at A-level of GCSE), e. g. Oxford, Cambridge
4) Education in the USA
• elementary schools from 6th to 12th year
• Junior High School (from 12 to 15), Senior High School (from 15 to 18)
• over 2000 universities and colleges, e. g. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Caltech
5) Attended schools and my plans
• basic school
• accepted at grammar school
• would like to pass graduation exams at grammar school
• would like to study which university, for master’s degree
Flat and its Furniture
(description of a flat and a house, other types of dwelling, living in the city, living in the country, ideal home)
1) My house
• in which city
• floors, cellar, attic, how many rooms in each floor, bathroom and toilet
• living room: TV, satellite receiver, old computer, big seat with two armchairs
• kitchen: cupboard, stove with oven, fridge, microwave oven, sink, table with chairs
• bedroom: parent’s beds, wardrobes
• garage, garden
2) My room
• happy / unhappy with my room
• bed
• few wardrobes
• bookcases (school books, literature)
• writing desk (used for school and other hand-writing)
• table with computer (case, ink printer, keyboard and mouse in a tray, monitor, sound system with subwoofer, external modem, phone)
• small TV, MP3 discman
• going to leave for some city to college or private flat
3) Differences between city and village
• positives and negatives to both living in a village and in a city
• disadvantages of village: lack of shopping options, facilities for sports, cultural activities (nothing of this too important for me), have to ride the bus to school and work every day (very big problem)
• advantages of village: quiet healthy environment, possibility to grow your own vegetables and fruit, having pets, raising farm animals; meeting places: church and pub; pig feast
• disadvantages of city: hectic atmosphere created by stress, traffic, noise; polluted air
• advantages of city: job opportunities, housing options, wide variety of cultural and sport activities, number of shops, high quality medical facilities
4) English housing
• typically detached or terraced, owned
• built of red bricks, English grass in the front of the house, plants
• two-floored houses with two garages
• pets; fireplace (krb)
• costs about £100,000
• USA: skyscrapers
1) My house
• in which city
• floors, cellar, attic, how many rooms in each floor, bathroom and toilet
• living room: TV, satellite receiver, old computer, big seat with two armchairs
• kitchen: cupboard, stove with oven, fridge, microwave oven, sink, table with chairs
• bedroom: parent’s beds, wardrobes
• garage, garden
2) My room
• happy / unhappy with my room
• bed
• few wardrobes
• bookcases (school books, literature)
• writing desk (used for school and other hand-writing)
• table with computer (case, ink printer, keyboard and mouse in a tray, monitor, sound system with subwoofer, external modem, phone)
• small TV, MP3 discman
• going to leave for some city to college or private flat
3) Differences between city and village
• positives and negatives to both living in a village and in a city
• disadvantages of village: lack of shopping options, facilities for sports, cultural activities (nothing of this too important for me), have to ride the bus to school and work every day (very big problem)
• advantages of village: quiet healthy environment, possibility to grow your own vegetables and fruit, having pets, raising farm animals; meeting places: church and pub; pig feast
• disadvantages of city: hectic atmosphere created by stress, traffic, noise; polluted air
• advantages of city: job opportunities, housing options, wide variety of cultural and sport activities, number of shops, high quality medical facilities
4) English housing
• typically detached or terraced, owned
• built of red bricks, English grass in the front of the house, plants
• two-floored houses with two garages
• pets; fireplace (krb)
• costs about £100,000
• USA: skyscrapers
Food and Meals, Restaurants
(favourite foods and drinks, eating habits in England and in the USA, healthy diet, junk food)
1) Breakfast
• drink – tea with milk or lemon, cocoa [koukou], warm or hot milk, black coffee
• eat – bread or rolls with butter and cheese or eggs, ham, salami, jam etc.; something sweet (cakes, doughnuts, gingerbread); cereals (cornflakes, muesli), yoghurt, chocolate
• usually between 6 and 7 o’clock
• British breakfast: bigger, glass of a fruit juice, cornflakes with sugar and milk, tea, piece of toast with butter and marmalade or honey
• on Sunday: big cooked breakfast, “brunch”, breakfast and lunch together, some meat, ham, boiled or scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, fried bread, salami etc.
• my breakfast
2) Lunch
• vegetable soups: potato, tomato, pea, carrot, mushrooms
• meat teas: beef tea, chicken or goulash soup
• fruit soups: strawberry soup
• main dish: sweet (dumplings, doughnuts), meat, fish or poultry with vegetables (potatoes, chips, rice, Czech dumplings, bread, spaghetti etc.), sauce
• meat: beef (hovězí), pork (vepřové), veal (telecí), mutton (skopové), lamb (jehněčí); preparing: roasting, grilling, boiling, baking, stewing, smoking
• poultry: chicken, hen, duck, turkey, goose; in Czech also rabbits, carps
• spices: garlic, marjoram, pepper, allspice, ketchup
• drinks: tea, lemonade, juice, cola, mineral water, syrup with water, beer, black coffee
• deserts: cake, pudding, ice cream
• British lunch: cold, just ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit, pudding, ice cream
• my lunch
3) Supper
• warm or cold, warm like lunch
• cold: bread or rolls and spread
• readymade dish from a tin or have a soup
• Britain supper: dinner, main meal, between 6 and 7 o’clock, soup, fried fish and chips, sometimes meat and vegetables; meat puddings and apple pies
• my supper
4) Other daily meals
• British tea at five: biscuits or cakes, several cups of strong tea with milk
• fast food: typical feature of British and American lifestyles, McDonald’s fast food restaurant
• snacks (forenoon, afternoon)
• light supper at night: piece of cold meat or ham, cheese, some biscuits or just a glass of milk
• restaurant: on special occasions, celebrations
• typical food in Great Britain: fish and chips, lamb meat, tea
• typical food in the USA: hamburgers, fast food, coca-cola
• typical food in Czech Republic (national cuisine): roasted pork with sauerkraut and Czech dumplings
1) Breakfast
• drink – tea with milk or lemon, cocoa [koukou], warm or hot milk, black coffee
• eat – bread or rolls with butter and cheese or eggs, ham, salami, jam etc.; something sweet (cakes, doughnuts, gingerbread); cereals (cornflakes, muesli), yoghurt, chocolate
• usually between 6 and 7 o’clock
• British breakfast: bigger, glass of a fruit juice, cornflakes with sugar and milk, tea, piece of toast with butter and marmalade or honey
• on Sunday: big cooked breakfast, “brunch”, breakfast and lunch together, some meat, ham, boiled or scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, fried bread, salami etc.
• my breakfast
2) Lunch
• vegetable soups: potato, tomato, pea, carrot, mushrooms
• meat teas: beef tea, chicken or goulash soup
• fruit soups: strawberry soup
• main dish: sweet (dumplings, doughnuts), meat, fish or poultry with vegetables (potatoes, chips, rice, Czech dumplings, bread, spaghetti etc.), sauce
• meat: beef (hovězí), pork (vepřové), veal (telecí), mutton (skopové), lamb (jehněčí); preparing: roasting, grilling, boiling, baking, stewing, smoking
• poultry: chicken, hen, duck, turkey, goose; in Czech also rabbits, carps
• spices: garlic, marjoram, pepper, allspice, ketchup
• drinks: tea, lemonade, juice, cola, mineral water, syrup with water, beer, black coffee
• deserts: cake, pudding, ice cream
• British lunch: cold, just ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit, pudding, ice cream
• my lunch
3) Supper
• warm or cold, warm like lunch
• cold: bread or rolls and spread
• readymade dish from a tin or have a soup
• Britain supper: dinner, main meal, between 6 and 7 o’clock, soup, fried fish and chips, sometimes meat and vegetables; meat puddings and apple pies
• my supper
4) Other daily meals
• British tea at five: biscuits or cakes, several cups of strong tea with milk
• fast food: typical feature of British and American lifestyles, McDonald’s fast food restaurant
• snacks (forenoon, afternoon)
• light supper at night: piece of cold meat or ham, cheese, some biscuits or just a glass of milk
• restaurant: on special occasions, celebrations
• typical food in Great Britain: fish and chips, lamb meat, tea
• typical food in the USA: hamburgers, fast food, coca-cola
• typical food in Czech Republic (national cuisine): roasted pork with sauerkraut and Czech dumplings
Shops and Shopping
(various kinds of shops and goods, benefits and drawbacks of shopping at a supermarket or at a small shop, buying presents, shopping as a new entertainment)
1) Types of shops
• specialised shops
o the greengrocer in fruit and vegetables (apples, pears, bananas, grapefruits, cherries, strawberries, melons, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic)
o the butcher [bučr] in meat (beef, pork, poultry – chicken, hen, turkey; rabbit, lamb, sausages, liver, kidneys)
o the baker in bread and cakes (rolls, bans, doughnuts)
o the dairy in milk products and eggs (milk, butter, cream, cheese, yoghurt)
o the confectioner or sweet shop in sweet and ice cream (chocolate, box of sweets, puddings, chocolate sticks)
o the tobacconist in cigarettes, the newsagent in newspapers and magazines
o the florist in flowers (for special occasions – wedding, birthday, Valentine, funeral)
o the men’s and women’s wear in clothes and dresses (cap, hut, scarf, anorak, gloves, trousers, jeans, jacket, suit, shoes, tracksuit, T-shirts, shorts, trainers etc.)
o the ironmonger [aironmondžr] in metal goods (equipment for household – tools, pans, nails)
o the stationery in paper products and office supplies (exercise books, rulers, pens, papers, envelopes, paints)
o the jeweller in jewellery
o the toyshop in various toys for children (dolls, cars, teddy-bears, trains, balls)
• supermarkets and hypermarkets, self-service shops
o “serve-yourself” system: go in, pick up a basket or trolley, walk around the shop, choose what you want, pay for all goods at the exit at a cash-desk
• department stores
o Marks and Spencer, Harrods in London
o in Harrods about 40000 customers per day (same as population of Trebic city)
o everything from food to furniture
• common shops, in the village
o the grocer’s: food (tea, coffee, sugar, flour, butter, cheese, eggs, jam, biscuits), kitchen needs (soap, detergents – cleaning articles)
o drug store: medicines, ointments, toothpaste, combs, soap, cosmetics, razor blades, sunglasses, films
2) Shopping
• currencies:
o Czech crown, banknotes 5000, 2000, 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, coins 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 crowns, 50 hellers
o British pound in England
o U. S. dollar in the USA, own dollars in other English-speaking countries
o Euro in European currency union
• paying by credit cards: Visa [vajza] Card, American Express etc.
• Czech shopping habits in an average family: goes shopping every day for necessary food, once a week one bigger purchase for the weekend, from time to time buying clothes, shoes and house equipments
• shopping “fever” before Christmas season, buying nice and unique Christmas presents
• souvenirs from Czech Republic: souvenirs from street stall at the Charles Bridge, book about our country, compact discs with Czech classical music, cut glass, china etc
3) Shopping opportunities in local city
• most shops situated in the square (book shops, sports wearing, fast food, bank, lot of services, town hall, hotel, pubs, restaurants, post office, newsagents, pet shop etc.)
• super- and hypermarkets
• shopping habits of my family
• my favourite shops
1) Types of shops
• specialised shops
o the greengrocer in fruit and vegetables (apples, pears, bananas, grapefruits, cherries, strawberries, melons, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic)
o the butcher [bučr] in meat (beef, pork, poultry – chicken, hen, turkey; rabbit, lamb, sausages, liver, kidneys)
o the baker in bread and cakes (rolls, bans, doughnuts)
o the dairy in milk products and eggs (milk, butter, cream, cheese, yoghurt)
o the confectioner or sweet shop in sweet and ice cream (chocolate, box of sweets, puddings, chocolate sticks)
o the tobacconist in cigarettes, the newsagent in newspapers and magazines
o the florist in flowers (for special occasions – wedding, birthday, Valentine, funeral)
o the men’s and women’s wear in clothes and dresses (cap, hut, scarf, anorak, gloves, trousers, jeans, jacket, suit, shoes, tracksuit, T-shirts, shorts, trainers etc.)
o the ironmonger [aironmondžr] in metal goods (equipment for household – tools, pans, nails)
o the stationery in paper products and office supplies (exercise books, rulers, pens, papers, envelopes, paints)
o the jeweller in jewellery
o the toyshop in various toys for children (dolls, cars, teddy-bears, trains, balls)
• supermarkets and hypermarkets, self-service shops
o “serve-yourself” system: go in, pick up a basket or trolley, walk around the shop, choose what you want, pay for all goods at the exit at a cash-desk
• department stores
o Marks and Spencer, Harrods in London
o in Harrods about 40000 customers per day (same as population of Trebic city)
o everything from food to furniture
• common shops, in the village
o the grocer’s: food (tea, coffee, sugar, flour, butter, cheese, eggs, jam, biscuits), kitchen needs (soap, detergents – cleaning articles)
o drug store: medicines, ointments, toothpaste, combs, soap, cosmetics, razor blades, sunglasses, films
2) Shopping
• currencies:
o Czech crown, banknotes 5000, 2000, 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, coins 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 crowns, 50 hellers
o British pound in England
o U. S. dollar in the USA, own dollars in other English-speaking countries
o Euro in European currency union
• paying by credit cards: Visa [vajza] Card, American Express etc.
• Czech shopping habits in an average family: goes shopping every day for necessary food, once a week one bigger purchase for the weekend, from time to time buying clothes, shoes and house equipments
• shopping “fever” before Christmas season, buying nice and unique Christmas presents
• souvenirs from Czech Republic: souvenirs from street stall at the Charles Bridge, book about our country, compact discs with Czech classical music, cut glass, china etc
3) Shopping opportunities in local city
• most shops situated in the square (book shops, sports wearing, fast food, bank, lot of services, town hall, hotel, pubs, restaurants, post office, newsagents, pet shop etc.)
• super- and hypermarkets
• shopping habits of my family
• my favourite shops
Clothing
(formal, casual, materials, patterns, styles, the latest fashion, buying clothes)
1) Clothing
• Czech proverb “Clothes make a man”
• different attitudes (přístupy) to fashion, typically
o men do not care what they wear
o women like to spend a lot of money on clothes
• ready-made clothes, clothes made to measure
• style of clothes depend on factors like:
o geography, climate, season
o poverty, wealth
o taste
o occasion
• clothes according to latest fashion described in fashion magazines, needn’t to suit every time
• fashion concerns also hair style, make-up and accessories (handbags, jewellery, glasses)
• trademarks on clothes (Nike, Adidas, Fishbone)
• centres of fashion: London, Paris, Rome
• changes in the length of clothes, very quick, because dressmaking become a big business
• types of neckline: high or low, oval, V-neck, with collar or collarless
• natural materials: cotton (bavlna), wool [vul], linen (plátno), silk (hedvábí), velvet (samet), leather (kůže); man-made fibres; best materials: non-iron, shrink-resistant fabric
• design of materials: plain or patterned (flowered, geometric, spotted), colours from the brightest to the coolest
• me and clothes
2) Clothing for various occasions
• in summer: T-shirts with short sleeves, light summer trousers or shorts, sandals or trainers
• in winter: jean, sweater, anorak, winter coat and jacket, sometimes fur coat, gloves, cap, scarf
• swimming: women: swim suit; men: trunks
• special occasions: men: dark suit, light shirt, tie, shoes; woman: evening dress, pumps
• sport: sports wear (shorts, T-shirts, sport shoes: boots, ski shoes)
• at home: leisure wear, e. g. tracksuit
• at school: practical and plain, in Britain school uniforms
• uniforms and costumes
o police – black, blue
o armed forces, soldiers – green, masked
o health workers – white, nurses white and blue
o schools in Britain
• national costumes: Scotland (skirt for men), Moravia & Silesia (decorated dresses)
• luggage (GB) / baggage (USA)
o suitcase (kufr na oblečení), briefcase (diplomatka), trunk (lodní kufr)
o bag, rucksack
3) Men clothing
• small stock of vests, pants, slippers, pyjamas, socks, knee socks
• several pairs of trousers, some suits and jackets
• a pile of shirts, long sleeved and short sleeved, pullovers, sweaters, sweatshirts, T-shirts
• an anorak, a winter coat, a mackintosh, gloves, scarfs (šály), shoes
4) Women clothing
• underwear made of silk or artificial silk
• a dress or a blouse and a skirt
• a pair of stockings (punčochy) or panty hose (volné kalhoty), a pair of shoes
• pant suit (kalhotový kostým) – pants and jacket
• pants (kalhoty), a blouse or a jumper and a cardigan (svetr, vesta)
• winter coat, an anorak or a fur coat, a hat or fur cap, gloves
• winter shoes, e. g. high leg shoes (kozačky)
1) Clothing
• Czech proverb “Clothes make a man”
• different attitudes (přístupy) to fashion, typically
o men do not care what they wear
o women like to spend a lot of money on clothes
• ready-made clothes, clothes made to measure
• style of clothes depend on factors like:
o geography, climate, season
o poverty, wealth
o taste
o occasion
• clothes according to latest fashion described in fashion magazines, needn’t to suit every time
• fashion concerns also hair style, make-up and accessories (handbags, jewellery, glasses)
• trademarks on clothes (Nike, Adidas, Fishbone)
• centres of fashion: London, Paris, Rome
• changes in the length of clothes, very quick, because dressmaking become a big business
• types of neckline: high or low, oval, V-neck, with collar or collarless
• natural materials: cotton (bavlna), wool [vul], linen (plátno), silk (hedvábí), velvet (samet), leather (kůže); man-made fibres; best materials: non-iron, shrink-resistant fabric
• design of materials: plain or patterned (flowered, geometric, spotted), colours from the brightest to the coolest
• me and clothes
2) Clothing for various occasions
• in summer: T-shirts with short sleeves, light summer trousers or shorts, sandals or trainers
• in winter: jean, sweater, anorak, winter coat and jacket, sometimes fur coat, gloves, cap, scarf
• swimming: women: swim suit; men: trunks
• special occasions: men: dark suit, light shirt, tie, shoes; woman: evening dress, pumps
• sport: sports wear (shorts, T-shirts, sport shoes: boots, ski shoes)
• at home: leisure wear, e. g. tracksuit
• at school: practical and plain, in Britain school uniforms
• uniforms and costumes
o police – black, blue
o armed forces, soldiers – green, masked
o health workers – white, nurses white and blue
o schools in Britain
• national costumes: Scotland (skirt for men), Moravia & Silesia (decorated dresses)
• luggage (GB) / baggage (USA)
o suitcase (kufr na oblečení), briefcase (diplomatka), trunk (lodní kufr)
o bag, rucksack
3) Men clothing
• small stock of vests, pants, slippers, pyjamas, socks, knee socks
• several pairs of trousers, some suits and jackets
• a pile of shirts, long sleeved and short sleeved, pullovers, sweaters, sweatshirts, T-shirts
• an anorak, a winter coat, a mackintosh, gloves, scarfs (šály), shoes
4) Women clothing
• underwear made of silk or artificial silk
• a dress or a blouse and a skirt
• a pair of stockings (punčochy) or panty hose (volné kalhoty), a pair of shoes
• pant suit (kalhotový kostým) – pants and jacket
• pants (kalhoty), a blouse or a jumper and a cardigan (svetr, vesta)
• winter coat, an anorak or a fur coat, a hat or fur cap, gloves
• winter shoes, e. g. high leg shoes (kozačky)
Travelling
1) Travelling
• all people on the world travel, people travelled in history and they travel at present too
• reasons of travelling:
- learning about new places, countries, new people (Africa – most interesting continent, there lives people, who you never see before, with different religion, style of life, weather)
- business, political reasons (businessmen travel several times by day because of their work)
- cultural reasons
- scientific purpose = účel (to travel to Alaska, to deserts in Africa, tropical rain forests in South America)
• may be dangerous: can meet bad people, get lost, be murdered, stolen money, better not travel alone, get lost or stolen documentation (passport, identity card, air tickets for return journey)
• various means of transport
- earlier: on foot, on horseback
can’t to find some advantage, only disadvantage: uncomfortable, dangerous, quickly tired, no long way
- car, motorcycle
advantage: comfortable, fast, can stop where you want and you can arrive want you want, disadvantage: traffic jams, air pollution, you need driver or driving licence, check fuel = palivo, oil, expensive
- bus, tram, underground it is public transport
advantage: fast, cheap, underground without traffic jams and tram and underground are ecological, disadvantage: bus isn’t ecological, it leaves in definite = určitý time and it stops at bus stop
- railways – train
advantage: modern train – diesel and electric engines = lokomotivy, comfortable, there is sleeping car, dining car, toilet, fast, disadvantage: old trains are noisy, dirty, uncomfortable, sometimes expensive
- plane – driving 2 pilots, air hostess (stewards) get you instructions about accident, exits, life jacket = záchranná vesta, about temperature outside and in country where you are travelling
advantage: the fastest transport, comfortable, you get food, air hostess (stewards) care of you, you can watch a film, you can see clouds or land, disadvantage: the airports aren’t in all town, you must get to this town, very dangerous recently
- ship – it was typical in 20. centuries, you used it only for way over the ocean
advantage: it can be romantic way recently, disadvantage: you can be seasick, dangerous
- bicycle
advantage: it is ecological, you can go where you want, it can be relax for somebody, it’s faster than go by foot, disadvantage: very fast cycling can be dangerous, quickly tired
- hitchhike
advantage: very cheap disadvantage: dangerous
- untypical travelling: sailing on a yacht, hot-air ballooning, skateboarding, roller-skating
• travel agencies
- you must choose good agency
- you can arrange = zařídit trips, tickets, *accommodations
- cultural trips to historic places (Egypt, Rome, Athens, Tunisia)
- recreation in mountains (Alps) or at sea (Croatia, Bulgaria)
- stays with sports (climbing, riding horses, bikes, volleyball and all games)
- educational programmes (language courses)
• luggage (GB) / baggage (USA)
- suitcase = kufr na oblečení, briefcase = diplomatka, trunk = lodní kufr
- bag, rucksack [raksek]
- clothing and cosmetic
- write address of place where you will have holiday and your own address
• need to travel: valid = platný passport and for some countries visa = vízum necessary, health insurance = pojištění, need to change money
• foreign language: most people in world speak English, in Europe also German, French and Russian
2) My travelling
• to school every day, by bus
• travel by car, I have driving licence
• to travel to Switzerland by bus (student agency), by plane to family
• to travel to Germany by car to family
• to travel to Croatia and Bulgaria by plane and by car for holiday
*accommodation
• room in a hotel, can be booked = zapsán, rezervován by letter, phone or via = prostřednictvím email
• can to be in: hotels, inns (in the country) and pubs (in the towns); hostels (for young people)
• when you enter a hotel: fill in the registration form at receptionist’s desk (name, permanent address, nationality, time of stay, number of identity card), get a key of the room or card
• typical equipment in hotel room: bathroom, bedroom, where is wardrobe, bed, mirror, table
• typical facilities in hotel: restaurant, dancing place, swimming pool, fitness centre, sauna, hairdresser
• all people on the world travel, people travelled in history and they travel at present too
• reasons of travelling:
- learning about new places, countries, new people (Africa – most interesting continent, there lives people, who you never see before, with different religion, style of life, weather)
- business, political reasons (businessmen travel several times by day because of their work)
- cultural reasons
- scientific purpose = účel (to travel to Alaska, to deserts in Africa, tropical rain forests in South America)
• may be dangerous: can meet bad people, get lost, be murdered, stolen money, better not travel alone, get lost or stolen documentation (passport, identity card, air tickets for return journey)
• various means of transport
- earlier: on foot, on horseback
can’t to find some advantage, only disadvantage: uncomfortable, dangerous, quickly tired, no long way
- car, motorcycle
advantage: comfortable, fast, can stop where you want and you can arrive want you want, disadvantage: traffic jams, air pollution, you need driver or driving licence, check fuel = palivo, oil, expensive
- bus, tram, underground it is public transport
advantage: fast, cheap, underground without traffic jams and tram and underground are ecological, disadvantage: bus isn’t ecological, it leaves in definite = určitý time and it stops at bus stop
- railways – train
advantage: modern train – diesel and electric engines = lokomotivy, comfortable, there is sleeping car, dining car, toilet, fast, disadvantage: old trains are noisy, dirty, uncomfortable, sometimes expensive
- plane – driving 2 pilots, air hostess (stewards) get you instructions about accident, exits, life jacket = záchranná vesta, about temperature outside and in country where you are travelling
advantage: the fastest transport, comfortable, you get food, air hostess (stewards) care of you, you can watch a film, you can see clouds or land, disadvantage: the airports aren’t in all town, you must get to this town, very dangerous recently
- ship – it was typical in 20. centuries, you used it only for way over the ocean
advantage: it can be romantic way recently, disadvantage: you can be seasick, dangerous
- bicycle
advantage: it is ecological, you can go where you want, it can be relax for somebody, it’s faster than go by foot, disadvantage: very fast cycling can be dangerous, quickly tired
- hitchhike
advantage: very cheap disadvantage: dangerous
- untypical travelling: sailing on a yacht, hot-air ballooning, skateboarding, roller-skating
• travel agencies
- you must choose good agency
- you can arrange = zařídit trips, tickets, *accommodations
- cultural trips to historic places (Egypt, Rome, Athens, Tunisia)
- recreation in mountains (Alps) or at sea (Croatia, Bulgaria)
- stays with sports (climbing, riding horses, bikes, volleyball and all games)
- educational programmes (language courses)
• luggage (GB) / baggage (USA)
- suitcase = kufr na oblečení, briefcase = diplomatka, trunk = lodní kufr
- bag, rucksack [raksek]
- clothing and cosmetic
- write address of place where you will have holiday and your own address
• need to travel: valid = platný passport and for some countries visa = vízum necessary, health insurance = pojištění, need to change money
• foreign language: most people in world speak English, in Europe also German, French and Russian
2) My travelling
• to school every day, by bus
• travel by car, I have driving licence
• to travel to Switzerland by bus (student agency), by plane to family
• to travel to Germany by car to family
• to travel to Croatia and Bulgaria by plane and by car for holiday
*accommodation
• room in a hotel, can be booked = zapsán, rezervován by letter, phone or via = prostřednictvím email
• can to be in: hotels, inns (in the country) and pubs (in the towns); hostels (for young people)
• when you enter a hotel: fill in the registration form at receptionist’s desk (name, permanent address, nationality, time of stay, number of identity card), get a key of the room or card
• typical equipment in hotel room: bathroom, bedroom, where is wardrobe, bed, mirror, table
• typical facilities in hotel: restaurant, dancing place, swimming pool, fitness centre, sauna, hairdresser
Occupations
(blue-colar jobs, white-colar jobs, advantages and disadvantages, the choice of the right career, to get a good job, certain professions need certain qualities, future plans)
1) Manual jobs – blue-colar
• basic education
o driver, dustman, milkmaid, miner, sailor (fisherman), worker
• Civil Training Centre (Training Centre of Building)
o bricklayer, electrician, carpenter (tesař), joiner (truhlář), plumber (instalatér), gardener, painter, locksmith
• Hotel school / more-purpose training centre (in Borovina & Sirotci)
o shoemaker, dressmaker, needlewoman, tailor, cook, baker, waiter, waitress, shop assistant, butcher
• Agricultural Training Centre (Horka-Domky)
o car mechanic, repairer of agricultural machines, art-smith
2) Intellectual jobs – white-colar
• Academy of Commerce
o accountant, officers, clerk
• Grammar School, Church Grammar School
o preparing for tertiary education
• West-Moravian University
o computer programmers
• Secondary School of Health
o nurses, health workers
• professions with university education
o important for the state: president, prime minister, ministers and deputies, senators; in foreign countries – ambassadors
o scientist (trying to gain new knowledge – Czech Academy of Science), astronomer (exploring stars)
o notary (verifying documents), lawyer, judge [džadž] (area of criminal activity and commercial disputes)
o doctor (taking care of sick people)
o architect (designing new houses)
o teacher (teaching in schools)
• other intellectual jobs
o newspaper reporter, radio announcer (collecting news)
o painter (painting pictures), writer (writing novels)
o actor (playing in theatres and films)
o director, deputy, secretary (in every company)
o private businessman
o policeman, armed forces
3) Jobs, future plans
• choosing a career – important step (money, satisfaction from a well done job)
• wage (mzda) depends on the kind of work, on its quality, on our education, on the prosperity of company
• unemployment – big problem in our country, especially in Trebic (14%), employment service agency takes care of unemployed people, looking for vacancy in advertisements or in competitions
• moving for work – typical in the USA, not in CR
• professions
o manual vs. intellectual
o men vs. women
o outdoor vs. indoor
• my future plans: would like to study Technical university in Brno next year, interested in electronic and computers, want to work in this branches
• choice of professions of my schoolmates (humanity, technical)
1) Manual jobs – blue-colar
• basic education
o driver, dustman, milkmaid, miner, sailor (fisherman), worker
• Civil Training Centre (Training Centre of Building)
o bricklayer, electrician, carpenter (tesař), joiner (truhlář), plumber (instalatér), gardener, painter, locksmith
• Hotel school / more-purpose training centre (in Borovina & Sirotci)
o shoemaker, dressmaker, needlewoman, tailor, cook, baker, waiter, waitress, shop assistant, butcher
• Agricultural Training Centre (Horka-Domky)
o car mechanic, repairer of agricultural machines, art-smith
2) Intellectual jobs – white-colar
• Academy of Commerce
o accountant, officers, clerk
• Grammar School, Church Grammar School
o preparing for tertiary education
• West-Moravian University
o computer programmers
• Secondary School of Health
o nurses, health workers
• professions with university education
o important for the state: president, prime minister, ministers and deputies, senators; in foreign countries – ambassadors
o scientist (trying to gain new knowledge – Czech Academy of Science), astronomer (exploring stars)
o notary (verifying documents), lawyer, judge [džadž] (area of criminal activity and commercial disputes)
o doctor (taking care of sick people)
o architect (designing new houses)
o teacher (teaching in schools)
• other intellectual jobs
o newspaper reporter, radio announcer (collecting news)
o painter (painting pictures), writer (writing novels)
o actor (playing in theatres and films)
o director, deputy, secretary (in every company)
o private businessman
o policeman, armed forces
3) Jobs, future plans
• choosing a career – important step (money, satisfaction from a well done job)
• wage (mzda) depends on the kind of work, on its quality, on our education, on the prosperity of company
• unemployment – big problem in our country, especially in Trebic (14%), employment service agency takes care of unemployed people, looking for vacancy in advertisements or in competitions
• moving for work – typical in the USA, not in CR
• professions
o manual vs. intellectual
o men vs. women
o outdoor vs. indoor
• my future plans: would like to study Technical university in Brno next year, interested in electronic and computers, want to work in this branches
• choice of professions of my schoolmates (humanity, technical)
Our Environment
(environmental problems, their causes and results, possible solutions, public awareness, how to become more environmentally aware)
1) Environmental problems
• the environment: flora, fauna, the water, the air, the earth
• air pollution
o all beings share the air, only people pollute
o exhaust produced by cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles, aeroplanes
o exhaust trapped in cities due to wind currents
o heavy industry – some factories emit SO2 (sulphur dioxide), spread by wind
o acid rains caused by mixing of SO2 with rainwater, pollutes the water and the soil (půda)
• ground and water pollution
o acid rains make trees grow slowly, get old quickly, then die
o absence of efficient cleaning system in many factories
o conventional agriculture (chemical fertilisers [frtilajzrs] (hnojiva))
o chemical based cleaning products in household (cleaning machines for villages above 1000 inhabitants)
• the hole in the ozone layer
o ozone layer – filter for the sun
o increase of skin cancer due to damage of this layer
o changes in global weather
o caused by industrial and technological way of life of 20th century (CFCs – Freon, CO2)
o in Czech Republic the worst during January and February
o ozone on the ground level (diseases, asthma, corrosion of certain materials)
• destruction of rainforests
o Amazon rain forest provides half of the world’s production of oxygen, “lungs of the Earth”
o destructed by acid rains, air pollution and people (firewood, building materials, ground)
o if we lose tropical forests: more difficult to breathe, temperature will rise (because of CO2), icecaps at the North and South Poles will melt, sea level will rise, flooding
• ecological catastrophes (oil tanker accidents, Spolana Neratovice, Chernobyl 1986)
• noise (problem of big cities)
2) Actions, which should be taken
• separate and recycle the trash, specialised dustbins (bio, paper, glass, plastic, metals; also in our scool)
• don’t waste water (showers instead of baths)
• don’t waste electricity (switch off unused lights, radio, PC etc.)
• recycle used batteries, fridges, electronics (TV, radios)
• bike when possible or use public transport, underground; catch parking fields in big cities
• use unleaded [anledid] petrol, buy a car with catalysator
• avoid using washing powders with dangerous chemicals
• don’t throw the waste in nature
• London in sixties – installation of cleaning machines to chimneys in every household
3) The environment
• ecology = science concerned with protection of the environment; at school ecological education
• alternative sources of energy: solar, water, wind, geothermal (in CR: two nuclear power plants, thermal plants, water plants on dams)
• environmental organisation Greenpeace (fights against pollution and nuclear power plants)
• animal and plant protection, save the balance of species affected by human activities (bears, wolfs, mushrooms)
• establishment of national parks and nature reserves, provide protection and opportunities for outdoor recreation
• national parks Sumava, Krnap (Giant Mountains), reservation Mohelno steppe
1) Environmental problems
• the environment: flora, fauna, the water, the air, the earth
• air pollution
o all beings share the air, only people pollute
o exhaust produced by cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles, aeroplanes
o exhaust trapped in cities due to wind currents
o heavy industry – some factories emit SO2 (sulphur dioxide), spread by wind
o acid rains caused by mixing of SO2 with rainwater, pollutes the water and the soil (půda)
• ground and water pollution
o acid rains make trees grow slowly, get old quickly, then die
o absence of efficient cleaning system in many factories
o conventional agriculture (chemical fertilisers [frtilajzrs] (hnojiva))
o chemical based cleaning products in household (cleaning machines for villages above 1000 inhabitants)
• the hole in the ozone layer
o ozone layer – filter for the sun
o increase of skin cancer due to damage of this layer
o changes in global weather
o caused by industrial and technological way of life of 20th century (CFCs – Freon, CO2)
o in Czech Republic the worst during January and February
o ozone on the ground level (diseases, asthma, corrosion of certain materials)
• destruction of rainforests
o Amazon rain forest provides half of the world’s production of oxygen, “lungs of the Earth”
o destructed by acid rains, air pollution and people (firewood, building materials, ground)
o if we lose tropical forests: more difficult to breathe, temperature will rise (because of CO2), icecaps at the North and South Poles will melt, sea level will rise, flooding
• ecological catastrophes (oil tanker accidents, Spolana Neratovice, Chernobyl 1986)
• noise (problem of big cities)
2) Actions, which should be taken
• separate and recycle the trash, specialised dustbins (bio, paper, glass, plastic, metals; also in our scool)
• don’t waste water (showers instead of baths)
• don’t waste electricity (switch off unused lights, radio, PC etc.)
• recycle used batteries, fridges, electronics (TV, radios)
• bike when possible or use public transport, underground; catch parking fields in big cities
• use unleaded [anledid] petrol, buy a car with catalysator
• avoid using washing powders with dangerous chemicals
• don’t throw the waste in nature
• London in sixties – installation of cleaning machines to chimneys in every household
3) The environment
• ecology = science concerned with protection of the environment; at school ecological education
• alternative sources of energy: solar, water, wind, geothermal (in CR: two nuclear power plants, thermal plants, water plants on dams)
• environmental organisation Greenpeace (fights against pollution and nuclear power plants)
• animal and plant protection, save the balance of species affected by human activities (bears, wolfs, mushrooms)
• establishment of national parks and nature reserves, provide protection and opportunities for outdoor recreation
• national parks Sumava, Krnap (Giant Mountains), reservation Mohelno steppe
English and American Literature
(famous English and American authors, your favourite author – life, works, style of writing, plots, settings)
1) My favourite author – Isaac Asimov
• born in 1920 in Petrovichi, Russia
• in 1923 emigrated to New York, USA
• 1934 first story
• studies at Columbia University, biology and chemistry
• 1939 first professional story in Amazing Stories
• died in 1992
• short stories about robots: Robbie, Reason, Lair!, Runaround, Evidence, Little Lost Robot, The Bicentennial Man – published in collection I, Robot
• novels about robots: The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Drawn, Robots and Empire
• famous Laws of Robotics (from Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D., as quoted in I, Robot)
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the 1st Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the 1st or 2nd Law.
• 1951-53 famous trilogy Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation (describes “future history” of galactic empire), in 1966 Best All-time Novel Series Hugo Award, then additional 4 parts
• novels The Gods Themselves, The End of Eternity, series of novels about Lucky Starr
• 1989 Nemesis; story for film Fantastic Voyage
• influenced by Karel Capek’s RUR, a lot of Hugo and Nebula awards, author of words “robotics”, “positronic”, “psychohistory”
2) English Literature
• oldest epic poem The Song of Beowulf, form Anglo-Saxon period
• religious literature by John Wycliff, influenced John Huss
• Middle Ages: Geoffrey Chaucer (14th century, Canterbury Tales – about pilgrims on their way to Canterbury)
• Renaissance (without William Shakespeare)
o Sir Thomas More (philosopher, Utopia)
o Christopher Marlowe (The Tragical history of Doctor Faust – inspiration for Goethe)
• Baroque: John Milton (Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained)
• Enlightenment
o Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels)
o Daniel Defoe (Robinson Crusoe)
• Romanism
o Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe, Rob Roy)
o George Gordon Byron (Child Harold’s Pilgrimage)
o Percy Bysshe Shelley (Prometheus Unbound; his wife, Mary Shelley, wrote Frankenstein)
• Victorian age: Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Papers of the Pickwick Club, Christmas stories)
• 1st half of 20th century
o Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (detective stories with Sherlock Holmes)
o Agatha Christie (detective stories with Hercule Poirot)
o Herbert George Wells (The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine)
o George Bernard Shaw (Pygmalion – My Fair Lady)
• 2nd half of 20th century (“Angry Young Men”)
o John Osborne (Look Back in Anger)
o Kingsley Amis (Lucky Jim)
3) American Literature
• 19th century
o Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tow Sawyer)
o Edgar Allan Poe (Murder in the Morgue Street, poem The Raven)
o Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass)
• prose in 20th century (without Ernest Hemingway): William Faulkner, John Steinbeck
• poetry in 20th century: Allen Ginsberg (Howl)
1) My favourite author – Isaac Asimov
• born in 1920 in Petrovichi, Russia
• in 1923 emigrated to New York, USA
• 1934 first story
• studies at Columbia University, biology and chemistry
• 1939 first professional story in Amazing Stories
• died in 1992
• short stories about robots: Robbie, Reason, Lair!, Runaround, Evidence, Little Lost Robot, The Bicentennial Man – published in collection I, Robot
• novels about robots: The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Drawn, Robots and Empire
• famous Laws of Robotics (from Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D., as quoted in I, Robot)
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the 1st Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the 1st or 2nd Law.
• 1951-53 famous trilogy Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation (describes “future history” of galactic empire), in 1966 Best All-time Novel Series Hugo Award, then additional 4 parts
• novels The Gods Themselves, The End of Eternity, series of novels about Lucky Starr
• 1989 Nemesis; story for film Fantastic Voyage
• influenced by Karel Capek’s RUR, a lot of Hugo and Nebula awards, author of words “robotics”, “positronic”, “psychohistory”
2) English Literature
• oldest epic poem The Song of Beowulf, form Anglo-Saxon period
• religious literature by John Wycliff, influenced John Huss
• Middle Ages: Geoffrey Chaucer (14th century, Canterbury Tales – about pilgrims on their way to Canterbury)
• Renaissance (without William Shakespeare)
o Sir Thomas More (philosopher, Utopia)
o Christopher Marlowe (The Tragical history of Doctor Faust – inspiration for Goethe)
• Baroque: John Milton (Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained)
• Enlightenment
o Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels)
o Daniel Defoe (Robinson Crusoe)
• Romanism
o Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe, Rob Roy)
o George Gordon Byron (Child Harold’s Pilgrimage)
o Percy Bysshe Shelley (Prometheus Unbound; his wife, Mary Shelley, wrote Frankenstein)
• Victorian age: Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Papers of the Pickwick Club, Christmas stories)
• 1st half of 20th century
o Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (detective stories with Sherlock Holmes)
o Agatha Christie (detective stories with Hercule Poirot)
o Herbert George Wells (The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine)
o George Bernard Shaw (Pygmalion – My Fair Lady)
• 2nd half of 20th century (“Angry Young Men”)
o John Osborne (Look Back in Anger)
o Kingsley Amis (Lucky Jim)
3) American Literature
• 19th century
o Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tow Sawyer)
o Edgar Allan Poe (Murder in the Morgue Street, poem The Raven)
o Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass)
• prose in 20th century (without Ernest Hemingway): William Faulkner, John Steinbeck
• poetry in 20th century: Allen Ginsberg (Howl)
My Daily Programme
(favourite hobbies and pastimes, skills and equipment needed, benefits of going for a hobby, different kinds of music, books, films, TV programmes, theatre performances)
1) Programme of school day
• stable from Monday to Friday
• get up after 7 o’clock
• dedicate what to wear, get dressed, prepare things to school
• hygiene [hajdžín] routine (wash my face and hands, brush my teeth, dry with a towel)
• prepare school snack and breakfast (a cup of cocoa)
• go to school on foot / have to commute, leave the house after 7:30, journey to school takes 5 minutes
• lessons start at 8 o’clock, each class has its own timetable
• lesson 45 minutes long, breaks 10 minutes, “long” break between 2nd and 3rd lesson 20 minutes long
• lunch in the school canteen
• come home, relax for an hour, prepare for next school day
• eat the supper, take a shower, go to my room, watch TV, read, listen to music, work with computer
2) My hobbies (example)
• interested in computers
• computer in my room on a table (case, ink printer, keyboard and mouse in a tray, great 19” monitor, superb sound system with subwoofer, external modem)
• know some programming languages: Delphi, Pascal, Assembler 51, HTML, PHP, SQL, also able to read C, C++, Visual Basic, Assembler 86, JavaScript and a lot of others
• working with Internet, looking for information
• favourite music
o hard and alternative rock, punk (music bands: Guano Apes, Nirvana, Paradise Lost, Korn, Murderdolls, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, System of a down, Cranberries)
o few kinds of Czech and Slovak music (Karel Kryl, Kabat, Daniel Landa, Ine kafe)
o classic music (composers: Smetana, Dvorak, Beethoven)
• favourite books
o science fiction (Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke)
• films and TV programmes
o favourite station CT2, documents, less known films; sometimes Nova, action films; Prima, detective stories
o a lot of films on computer
o favourite film: Shrek (about a ugly ogre, who want to save his swamp and felt in love with a princess)
1) Programme of school day
• stable from Monday to Friday
• get up after 7 o’clock
• dedicate what to wear, get dressed, prepare things to school
• hygiene [hajdžín] routine (wash my face and hands, brush my teeth, dry with a towel)
• prepare school snack and breakfast (a cup of cocoa)
• go to school on foot / have to commute, leave the house after 7:30, journey to school takes 5 minutes
• lessons start at 8 o’clock, each class has its own timetable
• lesson 45 minutes long, breaks 10 minutes, “long” break between 2nd and 3rd lesson 20 minutes long
• lunch in the school canteen
• come home, relax for an hour, prepare for next school day
• eat the supper, take a shower, go to my room, watch TV, read, listen to music, work with computer
2) My hobbies (example)
• interested in computers
• computer in my room on a table (case, ink printer, keyboard and mouse in a tray, great 19” monitor, superb sound system with subwoofer, external modem)
• know some programming languages: Delphi, Pascal, Assembler 51, HTML, PHP, SQL, also able to read C, C++, Visual Basic, Assembler 86, JavaScript and a lot of others
• working with Internet, looking for information
• favourite music
o hard and alternative rock, punk (music bands: Guano Apes, Nirvana, Paradise Lost, Korn, Murderdolls, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, System of a down, Cranberries)
o few kinds of Czech and Slovak music (Karel Kryl, Kabat, Daniel Landa, Ine kafe)
o classic music (composers: Smetana, Dvorak, Beethoven)
• favourite books
o science fiction (Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke)
• films and TV programmes
o favourite station CT2, documents, less known films; sometimes Nova, action films; Prima, detective stories
o a lot of films on computer
o favourite film: Shrek (about a ugly ogre, who want to save his swamp and felt in love with a princess)
Sports
(indoor and outdoor sports, skills and equipment needed, team and individual sports, professional sports, dangerous sports, benefits and drawbacks of playing sports)
1) Kinds of sports
• winter sports: skiing (cross country, downhill), snowboarding, ice hockey (Canada, Czech Republic), figure skating (krasobruslení), speed skating, sledging (sáňkování)
• water sports: swimming (free style, backstroke, crawl), windsurfing, surfing, deep sea diving, water skiing, rowing
• martial arts (action films, Ch. Norris): boxing, fencing (šerm), judo, karate, wrestling (řeckořímský zápas), aikido; body building (fitness centres)
• nature sports: fishing, rock climbing, hiking (GB), cycling, horse riding (GB), jogging (USA)
• light athletics: sprinting events, long distance running (E. Zatopek), hurdle racing (běh přes překážky), relay racing (štafetový běh), speed walking, jumping (height, length), throwing discs and spears (hod oštěpem) (J. Zelezny)
• team sports: football (GB), volleyball, basketball, tennis, rugby, baseball (USA), cricket
2) Sports
• performed at specialized facilities: sports’ hall, tennis and golf courts, open air stadium, open air pool, swimming pool, gym, bowling alley, ski slopes, trails, playground
• various equipment: tennis rocket, ball, net, goal, golf ball, baseball, hockey stick, skates, protective clothing, skies
• sports in GB: archery (lukostřelba) (Robin Hood, practised at basic schools), horse racing, rowing, hiking (in GB typical to be a member of a club)
• games in GB (rules, more than 3 players): bowling (kuželky), darts (both women and men), cricket, golf, tennis, football, netball
• sports in USA: baseball (from Indians), soccer [sokr] (kopaná) (European rules), football (American rules – can touch the ball), rugby, basketball
• sports in Canada: ice hockey, winter sports (skating, skiing, sledging)
• description of volleyball: It consists of two teams each with six players. It is played on a field or a beach and you need a ball and a net. The object of the game is not to let the ball touch the ground on your side, but to attempt to make the ball hit the ground on your opponent’s side. The winner of the game is the team, which had the ball touch the ground the least amount of times on their side.
• sports on TV: CT2, Nova, Prima (football, ice hockey; sport news after main news), on satellite: DSF, Eurosport
• best known players: ice hockey (NHL: Elias, Jagr, Hasek, Dopita), tennis (Navratilova), skiing (Naumannova)
3) Physical education
• at school two lessons of PE weekly
• get in our sport suit (T-shirt, shorts and running shoes), line up for the start of the class, one of us reports to the teacher that we are ready, than stretching, warming up
• athletics, ball games, table-tennis, fitness exercising
• good weather: go out to the stadium (playing football, practicing athletics)
• sporting days at stadium
4) Sports events
• the Olympic Games
o held every 4 years, summer and winter part
o named after city in Greece, where it took place in 776 B.C.; peace kept during the competitions
o restored in Athens, 1896
o managed by the International Olympic Committee
o symbol: five different coloured circles on a white background ( = 5 continents)
• tennis tournaments: Davis Cup, Wimbledon (GB)
• horse racing: Steeple-chase (Liverpool, GB), Great Pardubian Horse Racing
• the World and European Championships and Cups, in various sports
5) Me and sports
• summer sports
• winter sports
1) Kinds of sports
• winter sports: skiing (cross country, downhill), snowboarding, ice hockey (Canada, Czech Republic), figure skating (krasobruslení), speed skating, sledging (sáňkování)
• water sports: swimming (free style, backstroke, crawl), windsurfing, surfing, deep sea diving, water skiing, rowing
• martial arts (action films, Ch. Norris): boxing, fencing (šerm), judo, karate, wrestling (řeckořímský zápas), aikido; body building (fitness centres)
• nature sports: fishing, rock climbing, hiking (GB), cycling, horse riding (GB), jogging (USA)
• light athletics: sprinting events, long distance running (E. Zatopek), hurdle racing (běh přes překážky), relay racing (štafetový běh), speed walking, jumping (height, length), throwing discs and spears (hod oštěpem) (J. Zelezny)
• team sports: football (GB), volleyball, basketball, tennis, rugby, baseball (USA), cricket
2) Sports
• performed at specialized facilities: sports’ hall, tennis and golf courts, open air stadium, open air pool, swimming pool, gym, bowling alley, ski slopes, trails, playground
• various equipment: tennis rocket, ball, net, goal, golf ball, baseball, hockey stick, skates, protective clothing, skies
• sports in GB: archery (lukostřelba) (Robin Hood, practised at basic schools), horse racing, rowing, hiking (in GB typical to be a member of a club)
• games in GB (rules, more than 3 players): bowling (kuželky), darts (both women and men), cricket, golf, tennis, football, netball
• sports in USA: baseball (from Indians), soccer [sokr] (kopaná) (European rules), football (American rules – can touch the ball), rugby, basketball
• sports in Canada: ice hockey, winter sports (skating, skiing, sledging)
• description of volleyball: It consists of two teams each with six players. It is played on a field or a beach and you need a ball and a net. The object of the game is not to let the ball touch the ground on your side, but to attempt to make the ball hit the ground on your opponent’s side. The winner of the game is the team, which had the ball touch the ground the least amount of times on their side.
• sports on TV: CT2, Nova, Prima (football, ice hockey; sport news after main news), on satellite: DSF, Eurosport
• best known players: ice hockey (NHL: Elias, Jagr, Hasek, Dopita), tennis (Navratilova), skiing (Naumannova)
3) Physical education
• at school two lessons of PE weekly
• get in our sport suit (T-shirt, shorts and running shoes), line up for the start of the class, one of us reports to the teacher that we are ready, than stretching, warming up
• athletics, ball games, table-tennis, fitness exercising
• good weather: go out to the stadium (playing football, practicing athletics)
• sporting days at stadium
4) Sports events
• the Olympic Games
o held every 4 years, summer and winter part
o named after city in Greece, where it took place in 776 B.C.; peace kept during the competitions
o restored in Athens, 1896
o managed by the International Olympic Committee
o symbol: five different coloured circles on a white background ( = 5 continents)
• tennis tournaments: Davis Cup, Wimbledon (GB)
• horse racing: Steeple-chase (Liverpool, GB), Great Pardubian Horse Racing
• the World and European Championships and Cups, in various sports
5) Me and sports
• summer sports
• winter sports
Health and Diseases, Human Body
1) The human body
• skeleton = kostra consisting of about 206 bones
- bones connected by joints = klouby
- backbone (33 – 34 vertebrae)
- brainpan = lebka, chest = hrudní koš
- upper limbs = horní končetiny: arm: shoulder, upper arm, elbow = loket, forearm = předloktí, wrist = zápěstí, hand with fingers
- fingers: thumb, forefinger, middle-finger, ring-finger, little-finger
- lower limbs = spodní končetiny: leg: thigh = stehno, knee, calf = lýtko, ankle = kotník, foot with toes
• muscles – 640 muscles in body
• skin covers bones, muscles and organs
• the head
- brain is in brainpan – centre of thinking
- forehead = čelo, cheeks = tváře
- eyes: organs of sight: can be dark, brown, blue, green; people can need spectacles for near (or distant) vision or to be blind
- nose: organ of smell: for (nasal) breathing = nosní dých.
- ears: organs of hearing; people can be deaf = hluchý
- mouth: tongue – organ of taste and talking, in are 32 teeth (children – deciduous = opadávající teeth), is cover by lips for drinking, suck, talk and smile too (you need 36 muscles for one smile)
- hair: cover of the scalp: can be dark, black, brown, blonde, white in old age; skinhead
- chin = brada: men: beard, moustache
• the trunk = trup
- inside are organs:
- lungs = plíce: changing oxygen to carbon dioxide
- heart: pumps fresh blood into the body
- liver = játra: cleans blood
- kidneys = ledviny: removes waste liquids = znečištěnou kapalinu from blood
- stomach: processing of food
2) Diseases
• child diseases:
- in history: plague = mor: fever = horečka, shakes, sore joints = bolesní kloubů, bumps = boule like egg
- pox = neštovice: symptoms: fever, rash = vyrážka, treatment = léčba: liquid powder and tablets
- flu = chřipka: symptoms: fever, cold, cough = kašel, treatment: gargle = kloktadlo, drops and tablets
- tonsillitis = angina: symptoms: sore throat = bolení v krku, treatment: gargle and tablets
• cough, fever, headache [hedeik]
• slight illnesses (cold): treating by drinking hot tea, eating lots of fruit with vitamin C, few tablets of aspirin
• serious troubles (high fever): should go to the doctor’s, wait in waiting room, after examination doctor writes a prescription, go to the chemist’s for medicine (pills, drops, syrup, powder)
• serious ill or need to be operated: sent for treatment to the hospital
• childhood illnesses: mumps (příušnice), measles (spalničky), scarlet fever (spála), chicken-pox (plané neštovice)
• fatal diseases: cancer, heart attack, mental diseases
• toothache [tu:teik]: go to the dentist, he drills bad tooth, puts a filling in it, sometimes extract the tooth
• break an arm or a leg: go to the hospital, we are X-rayed, surgeon sets the bones in a plaster
3) First aid procedures & healthy lifestyle
• injury – “RICE”
o rest (patient shouldn’t move)
o ice (reduce blood flow)
o compress (compress injury with layer of cotton wool)
o elevate (raise injury above horizontal)
• breathing problems – “ABC”
o airway (passage between mouth, nose and throat should be open)
o breathing (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation – breathing air into patient’s lungs)
o circulation (blood should circulate from the heart around the body)
• healthy lifestyle – we shouldn’t: smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs, eat junk food
• healthy lifestyle – we should: go in for sports, harden (otužovat), take vitamins, have a rest
• skeleton = kostra consisting of about 206 bones
- bones connected by joints = klouby
- backbone (33 – 34 vertebrae)
- brainpan = lebka, chest = hrudní koš
- upper limbs = horní končetiny: arm: shoulder, upper arm, elbow = loket, forearm = předloktí, wrist = zápěstí, hand with fingers
- fingers: thumb, forefinger, middle-finger, ring-finger, little-finger
- lower limbs = spodní končetiny: leg: thigh = stehno, knee, calf = lýtko, ankle = kotník, foot with toes
• muscles – 640 muscles in body
• skin covers bones, muscles and organs
• the head
- brain is in brainpan – centre of thinking
- forehead = čelo, cheeks = tváře
- eyes: organs of sight: can be dark, brown, blue, green; people can need spectacles for near (or distant) vision or to be blind
- nose: organ of smell: for (nasal) breathing = nosní dých.
- ears: organs of hearing; people can be deaf = hluchý
- mouth: tongue – organ of taste and talking, in are 32 teeth (children – deciduous = opadávající teeth), is cover by lips for drinking, suck, talk and smile too (you need 36 muscles for one smile)
- hair: cover of the scalp: can be dark, black, brown, blonde, white in old age; skinhead
- chin = brada: men: beard, moustache
• the trunk = trup
- inside are organs:
- lungs = plíce: changing oxygen to carbon dioxide
- heart: pumps fresh blood into the body
- liver = játra: cleans blood
- kidneys = ledviny: removes waste liquids = znečištěnou kapalinu from blood
- stomach: processing of food
2) Diseases
• child diseases:
- in history: plague = mor: fever = horečka, shakes, sore joints = bolesní kloubů, bumps = boule like egg
- pox = neštovice: symptoms: fever, rash = vyrážka, treatment = léčba: liquid powder and tablets
- flu = chřipka: symptoms: fever, cold, cough = kašel, treatment: gargle = kloktadlo, drops and tablets
- tonsillitis = angina: symptoms: sore throat = bolení v krku, treatment: gargle and tablets
• cough, fever, headache [hedeik]
• slight illnesses (cold): treating by drinking hot tea, eating lots of fruit with vitamin C, few tablets of aspirin
• serious troubles (high fever): should go to the doctor’s, wait in waiting room, after examination doctor writes a prescription, go to the chemist’s for medicine (pills, drops, syrup, powder)
• serious ill or need to be operated: sent for treatment to the hospital
• childhood illnesses: mumps (příušnice), measles (spalničky), scarlet fever (spála), chicken-pox (plané neštovice)
• fatal diseases: cancer, heart attack, mental diseases
• toothache [tu:teik]: go to the dentist, he drills bad tooth, puts a filling in it, sometimes extract the tooth
• break an arm or a leg: go to the hospital, we are X-rayed, surgeon sets the bones in a plaster
3) First aid procedures & healthy lifestyle
• injury – “RICE”
o rest (patient shouldn’t move)
o ice (reduce blood flow)
o compress (compress injury with layer of cotton wool)
o elevate (raise injury above horizontal)
• breathing problems – “ABC”
o airway (passage between mouth, nose and throat should be open)
o breathing (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation – breathing air into patient’s lungs)
o circulation (blood should circulate from the heart around the body)
• healthy lifestyle – we shouldn’t: smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs, eat junk food
• healthy lifestyle – we should: go in for sports, harden (otužovat), take vitamins, have a rest
My Home Town
(history of the town, interesting sights, industries, our region, countryside, nature, protected areas)
1) Trebic
• situated on the both banks of the river Jihlava, in south-west part of Moravia
• population about 40 thousand (increased about twice because of building Dukovany nuclear power plant and Dalesice power station)
• foundation: 900 years ago, village around Benedictine Monastery (1101)
• lots of offices, health centers, schools, shops, sport halls, indoor swimming-pools, cinemas, a number of restaurants, cafes, pubs, historical places of interest
• about 10 elementary schools (specializations: sports, mathematic, languages)
• secondary schools: the Grammar School, the Business Academy, the Secondary Industrial School, the Secondary School of Health, few apprentice centers
• the West-Moravian University
• divided into several sections: down-town (Inner City), Borovina, Horka-Domky, Jejkov, Nové Dvory, Nové Město, Podklášteří, Stařečka, Týn, Zámostí, several villages near to the town (Pocoucov, Ptáčov, Řípov, Slavice etc.)
• industries: Bopo Borovina (socks), Uniplet works (knitting machines), Tusculum (furniture), Prvni Brnenska (gas burners), ZON (lemonades), Tipa (Tipa-Frost ice creams); high unemployment (14%)
• bus and railway stations, town’s mass transit buses
• hospital, many smaller health facilities
2) Sights
• the Basilika of St. Prokop, built in Roman-Gothic style in 13th century, the West-Moravian Museum (Bethlehems, Moldawites, pipes)
• Jewish Town, two Synagogues, large Jewish cemetery, a monument of UNESCO
• St. Martin’s Church with clock, biggest clock’s dial in the whole country, 75m high, comparable with London Tower Clock
• Charles Square, 3rd largest in Czech Republic, sculpture of St. Cyril and Methodius, Decorated House, Black House
• important natives: artists: Miroslav Donutil, Oldrich Navratil; poets: Jakub Deml, Josef Zahradnicek, Vitezslav Nezval (most of them studied at the Trebic Grammar School); sports: Patrik Elias
3) Region
• Namest upon Oslava, the Castle with collection of wall tapestries, historical furniture, small copies of sculptures on Charles Bridge, military airport
• Jaromerice upon the Rokytna River, the Baroque Castle, church, gardens with Baroque sculptures, first Czech opera Foundation of Moravian Jaromerice by Fr. Vaclav Mica
• Moravske Budejovice, second largest in the district, grammar school, museum of old crafts
• Kralice upon Oslava, the Bible of the Unity of Czech Brothers was printed here
• Pribyslavice, two factories – filters, packing for eggs
• Dalesice, factory for beer production (brewery), known from the movie Postriziny
4) Nature
• the cleanest air all over the Czech Republic
• ponds, lakes, forests, woods
• Svatoslav, mushrooming
• Heraltice, water, minerals
• Mohelno steppe, rare plants and animals
1) Trebic
• situated on the both banks of the river Jihlava, in south-west part of Moravia
• population about 40 thousand (increased about twice because of building Dukovany nuclear power plant and Dalesice power station)
• foundation: 900 years ago, village around Benedictine Monastery (1101)
• lots of offices, health centers, schools, shops, sport halls, indoor swimming-pools, cinemas, a number of restaurants, cafes, pubs, historical places of interest
• about 10 elementary schools (specializations: sports, mathematic, languages)
• secondary schools: the Grammar School, the Business Academy, the Secondary Industrial School, the Secondary School of Health, few apprentice centers
• the West-Moravian University
• divided into several sections: down-town (Inner City), Borovina, Horka-Domky, Jejkov, Nové Dvory, Nové Město, Podklášteří, Stařečka, Týn, Zámostí, several villages near to the town (Pocoucov, Ptáčov, Řípov, Slavice etc.)
• industries: Bopo Borovina (socks), Uniplet works (knitting machines), Tusculum (furniture), Prvni Brnenska (gas burners), ZON (lemonades), Tipa (Tipa-Frost ice creams); high unemployment (14%)
• bus and railway stations, town’s mass transit buses
• hospital, many smaller health facilities
2) Sights
• the Basilika of St. Prokop, built in Roman-Gothic style in 13th century, the West-Moravian Museum (Bethlehems, Moldawites, pipes)
• Jewish Town, two Synagogues, large Jewish cemetery, a monument of UNESCO
• St. Martin’s Church with clock, biggest clock’s dial in the whole country, 75m high, comparable with London Tower Clock
• Charles Square, 3rd largest in Czech Republic, sculpture of St. Cyril and Methodius, Decorated House, Black House
• important natives: artists: Miroslav Donutil, Oldrich Navratil; poets: Jakub Deml, Josef Zahradnicek, Vitezslav Nezval (most of them studied at the Trebic Grammar School); sports: Patrik Elias
3) Region
• Namest upon Oslava, the Castle with collection of wall tapestries, historical furniture, small copies of sculptures on Charles Bridge, military airport
• Jaromerice upon the Rokytna River, the Baroque Castle, church, gardens with Baroque sculptures, first Czech opera Foundation of Moravian Jaromerice by Fr. Vaclav Mica
• Moravske Budejovice, second largest in the district, grammar school, museum of old crafts
• Kralice upon Oslava, the Bible of the Unity of Czech Brothers was printed here
• Pribyslavice, two factories – filters, packing for eggs
• Dalesice, factory for beer production (brewery), known from the movie Postriziny
4) Nature
• the cleanest air all over the Czech Republic
• ponds, lakes, forests, woods
• Svatoslav, mushrooming
• Heraltice, water, minerals
• Mohelno steppe, rare plants and animals
Postal Services
(writing letters – formal and informal style, sending letters, Internet – usage, advantages, disadvantages, holidays in our country, in the USA, in Great Britain – origin, customs)
1) Postal services
• sending letter, cable, parcel, buy stamps, send money, phone somebody
• post office in every town, almost every village
• English letters, open with “Dear”, close with “Your sincerely”, my letters in English: only e-mails
• differences in writing address (number of the house comes before the name of the street)
• write the letter, sign it, put it into an envelope, stick down the envelope, write address, place a stamp to right upper corner, drop to pillar-box
• registered letters: have to go to post office, fill in a certificate of posting, pay registration fee
• sending parcels: weight the packet parcel, fill in a form, stick a label on the parcel, pay fee
• postal services for me: necessary only parcels and sometimes registered letters
2) Internet
• transmitting information from one place to another via FTP
• since 1995 world wide web via HTTP (80%)
• multimedia documents – contains text, images, audio, video
• useful for: looking for information, shopping, banking, travelling information, search engines
• e-mail: easy, cheap, quick way to send messages
• connections: dialup, ADSL, GPRS, Wi-Fi
• real-time applications: Internet chat, web cameras and telephoning
• disadvantages: slow speed, cost in Czech Republic, viruses and worms, hackers, privacy problems
3) Red-letter days
• 1st January, New Year’s Day (resolutions for new year)
• 14th February, St. Valentine’s Day, useless romantic gifts, unsigned cards with hearts and message “Be my Valentine”
• end of March or beginning of April, Easter, boys beat girls with Easter twigs, get colourful Easter eggs, in GB children look for presents hidden in garden
• 1st April, All Fool’s Day
• 1st May, festival of working people May Day, 8th Liberation
• 1st June, international festival of children
• 4th July, independence day in the USA, 5th Cyril and Methodius, 6th John Huss burning
• 28th October, foundation of Czech Republic, 31st Halloween
• 1st November, All Saint’s Day and All Souls, 6th Guy Fawkes Day (commemorates the failed attempt, by a group of Catholic revolutionaries in the 17th century to blow up the Houses of Parliament), 17th Velvet Revolution, Student’s day, fourth Thursday Thanksgiving Day in USA
• December, Christmas, in Europe presents on the evening of the 24th (Christmas Eve), in English-speaking countries on the morning of 25th (Christmas Day), 31st New Year’s Eve (celebrations, important in Scotland – Hogmanay)
1) Postal services
• sending letter, cable, parcel, buy stamps, send money, phone somebody
• post office in every town, almost every village
• English letters, open with “Dear”, close with “Your sincerely”, my letters in English: only e-mails
• differences in writing address (number of the house comes before the name of the street)
• write the letter, sign it, put it into an envelope, stick down the envelope, write address, place a stamp to right upper corner, drop to pillar-box
• registered letters: have to go to post office, fill in a certificate of posting, pay registration fee
• sending parcels: weight the packet parcel, fill in a form, stick a label on the parcel, pay fee
• postal services for me: necessary only parcels and sometimes registered letters
2) Internet
• transmitting information from one place to another via FTP
• since 1995 world wide web via HTTP (80%)
• multimedia documents – contains text, images, audio, video
• useful for: looking for information, shopping, banking, travelling information, search engines
• e-mail: easy, cheap, quick way to send messages
• connections: dialup, ADSL, GPRS, Wi-Fi
• real-time applications: Internet chat, web cameras and telephoning
• disadvantages: slow speed, cost in Czech Republic, viruses and worms, hackers, privacy problems
3) Red-letter days
• 1st January, New Year’s Day (resolutions for new year)
• 14th February, St. Valentine’s Day, useless romantic gifts, unsigned cards with hearts and message “Be my Valentine”
• end of March or beginning of April, Easter, boys beat girls with Easter twigs, get colourful Easter eggs, in GB children look for presents hidden in garden
• 1st April, All Fool’s Day
• 1st May, festival of working people May Day, 8th Liberation
• 1st June, international festival of children
• 4th July, independence day in the USA, 5th Cyril and Methodius, 6th John Huss burning
• 28th October, foundation of Czech Republic, 31st Halloween
• 1st November, All Saint’s Day and All Souls, 6th Guy Fawkes Day (commemorates the failed attempt, by a group of Catholic revolutionaries in the 17th century to blow up the Houses of Parliament), 17th Velvet Revolution, Student’s day, fourth Thursday Thanksgiving Day in USA
• December, Christmas, in Europe presents on the evening of the 24th (Christmas Eve), in English-speaking countries on the morning of 25th (Christmas Day), 31st New Year’s Eve (celebrations, important in Scotland – Hogmanay)
Weather, Seasons
(weather forecast, comparing the seasons, typical weather conditions in our country, weather in Great Britain, problems caused by bad weather, global warming, greenhouse effect)
1) Seasons
• spring: nature returns to life, vegetation grows (sunshine, rain, rainbow)
• summer: hot weather, best season because of holidays, students can: go for walks or trips, bathe in river or swimming pool, get a suntan, go in for sports, take part in some paid work
• autumn: leaves turn yellow and red and fall to the ground, birds migrate to south, windy and chilly days
• winter: weather is cold, often freezes, snows, children throw snowballs, build snowmen, sledge, ski or skate
2) Weather in Great Britain
• very changeable, rains a lot, sun often shines
• average temperature of 5 degrees in winter, doesn’t go above 30 degrees in summer
• days long in summer, short in winter
• sometimes fog (not so often as foreigners think)
• tomorrow’s weather unknown
• English summer: three fine days and thunderstorm
• climate influenced by the Gulf Stream
• pastures and meadows green and fresh all over the year (cattle and sheep can be outside even in winter)
• snow in southern parts very rare, causes calamity
• annual rainfall over one meter
• short sunlight (in north 5 hours daily in summer, half an hour daily in winter)
3) Weather in Czech Republic
• continental type of climate
• warm summer, temperatures from 25 to 30 degrees, up to 35 degrees
• cold winter, temperatures from 5 to 10 below freezing point, sometimes is even –20 degrees
• average temperature 10 degrees
4) Greenhouse effect and problems
• the Earth is warmed up naturally by the atmosphere which traps solar radiation
• atmospheric emission, i. e. carbon dioxide (burning fossil fuels), nitrogen oxides (car exhaust), CFCs (freons)
• rise in the Earth’s temperature, melting of arctic ice, flooding
• ozone on the ground level (diseases, asthma, corrosion of certain materials)
• ozone in the upper atmosphere (protection from ultraviolet rays, skin cancer, ozone hole over Antarctica)
• problems caused by bad weather: hurricanes, floods, snow calamites, drought (sucho)
1) Seasons
• spring: nature returns to life, vegetation grows (sunshine, rain, rainbow)
• summer: hot weather, best season because of holidays, students can: go for walks or trips, bathe in river or swimming pool, get a suntan, go in for sports, take part in some paid work
• autumn: leaves turn yellow and red and fall to the ground, birds migrate to south, windy and chilly days
• winter: weather is cold, often freezes, snows, children throw snowballs, build snowmen, sledge, ski or skate
2) Weather in Great Britain
• very changeable, rains a lot, sun often shines
• average temperature of 5 degrees in winter, doesn’t go above 30 degrees in summer
• days long in summer, short in winter
• sometimes fog (not so often as foreigners think)
• tomorrow’s weather unknown
• English summer: three fine days and thunderstorm
• climate influenced by the Gulf Stream
• pastures and meadows green and fresh all over the year (cattle and sheep can be outside even in winter)
• snow in southern parts very rare, causes calamity
• annual rainfall over one meter
• short sunlight (in north 5 hours daily in summer, half an hour daily in winter)
3) Weather in Czech Republic
• continental type of climate
• warm summer, temperatures from 25 to 30 degrees, up to 35 degrees
• cold winter, temperatures from 5 to 10 below freezing point, sometimes is even –20 degrees
• average temperature 10 degrees
4) Greenhouse effect and problems
• the Earth is warmed up naturally by the atmosphere which traps solar radiation
• atmospheric emission, i. e. carbon dioxide (burning fossil fuels), nitrogen oxides (car exhaust), CFCs (freons)
• rise in the Earth’s temperature, melting of arctic ice, flooding
• ozone on the ground level (diseases, asthma, corrosion of certain materials)
• ozone in the upper atmosphere (protection from ultraviolet rays, skin cancer, ozone hole over Antarctica)
• problems caused by bad weather: hurricanes, floods, snow calamites, drought (sucho)
Great Britain
(history, geographical features, system of government, lifestyle, regions, sights, industries)
1) Great Britain
• official title for union of England, Scotland and Wales (with Northern Ireland creates the United Kingdom, together with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other territories the Commonwealth of Nations)
• on British Isles [a:ils]: largest Great Britain and Ireland, smaller Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetlands, Channel Islands (near French coast)
• four parts: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
• highest peak Ben Nevis in Scotland, 1342m high
• rivers Severn, Thames (England), Clyde (Scotland)
• unstable weather, rain common throughout the year, autumn especially unpleasant (rainy, foggy, windy), winter mild, doesn’t snow much; mild climate due to Gulf stream
• population: 58 million, said to be conservative
• currency: pound, flag: “Union Jack”, anthem God Save the Queen
• Englishmen like animals, small houses (made of bricks), old traditions and habits
• best known newspapers: The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mirror
• two big parties: Conservatives, Labour Party
• constitutional monarchy, Queen Elizabeth II. since 1953
• Parliament has two houses: the House of Lords (hereditary for life), the House of Commons (63, elections every 5 years), the Prime Minister (Tony Blaire)
2) England and its important places
• London, capital
• Oxford and Cambridge, university towns, rowing challenge every year
• Canterbury, seat of the Archbishop, magnificent cathedral, pilgrims in the Middle Ages, known from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
• York, residence of the Archbishop of the Anglican Church, cathedral York Minster
• Winchester, Winchester cathedral from 7th century
• Stonehenge, historical monument with giant stone circles, more than 3000 years old, purpose unknown, probably religious and astronomical
• Plymouth, ship port, in 1620 a group of puritans escaped from there in a ship called Mayflower to America
• Stratford upon Avon, 2nd most visited town in England, Shakespeare’s birthplace
• Liverpool, the city of Beatles
• the Lake District, national park since 1951, lakes, i. e. Windermere (16km long, 70km wide)
• Birmingham, geographical heart of England, 2nd largest, industry (iron ore, coal), the National Exhibition Center for fairs
• Manchester, coal mining and engineering, textile industries producing woolen textiles called manchester
3) Scotland and its important places
• Scottish – playing bagpipes, wearing Scottish skirts
• Glasgow, largest in Scotland, big steelwork, shipyard, International Jazz Festival
• Edinburgh, capital, Festival of Music and Drama, birthplace of Walter Scott
• lakes in Scotland are called lochs
• Loch Ness, famous since 1933 because of the Loch Ness monster Nessie
1) Great Britain
• official title for union of England, Scotland and Wales (with Northern Ireland creates the United Kingdom, together with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other territories the Commonwealth of Nations)
• on British Isles [a:ils]: largest Great Britain and Ireland, smaller Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetlands, Channel Islands (near French coast)
• four parts: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
• highest peak Ben Nevis in Scotland, 1342m high
• rivers Severn, Thames (England), Clyde (Scotland)
• unstable weather, rain common throughout the year, autumn especially unpleasant (rainy, foggy, windy), winter mild, doesn’t snow much; mild climate due to Gulf stream
• population: 58 million, said to be conservative
• currency: pound, flag: “Union Jack”, anthem God Save the Queen
• Englishmen like animals, small houses (made of bricks), old traditions and habits
• best known newspapers: The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mirror
• two big parties: Conservatives, Labour Party
• constitutional monarchy, Queen Elizabeth II. since 1953
• Parliament has two houses: the House of Lords (hereditary for life), the House of Commons (63, elections every 5 years), the Prime Minister (Tony Blaire)
2) England and its important places
• London, capital
• Oxford and Cambridge, university towns, rowing challenge every year
• Canterbury, seat of the Archbishop, magnificent cathedral, pilgrims in the Middle Ages, known from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
• York, residence of the Archbishop of the Anglican Church, cathedral York Minster
• Winchester, Winchester cathedral from 7th century
• Stonehenge, historical monument with giant stone circles, more than 3000 years old, purpose unknown, probably religious and astronomical
• Plymouth, ship port, in 1620 a group of puritans escaped from there in a ship called Mayflower to America
• Stratford upon Avon, 2nd most visited town in England, Shakespeare’s birthplace
• Liverpool, the city of Beatles
• the Lake District, national park since 1951, lakes, i. e. Windermere (16km long, 70km wide)
• Birmingham, geographical heart of England, 2nd largest, industry (iron ore, coal), the National Exhibition Center for fairs
• Manchester, coal mining and engineering, textile industries producing woolen textiles called manchester
3) Scotland and its important places
• Scottish – playing bagpipes, wearing Scottish skirts
• Glasgow, largest in Scotland, big steelwork, shipyard, International Jazz Festival
• Edinburgh, capital, Festival of Music and Drama, birthplace of Walter Scott
• lakes in Scotland are called lochs
• Loch Ness, famous since 1933 because of the Loch Ness monster Nessie
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