Learning foreign languages. Somebody said: "English is a language that came from nowhere to conquer the world..." These words are really true and I will prove it. Foreign languages are absolutely necessary for us nowadays because of our growing international contacts with all the countries of the world. There are many reasons why we begin the study of a foreign language. One of them is to be able to communicate with other people who use this language. We may be planning to travel in one or two countries where the language is spoken. If we know the language of a foreign country, we can talk to its people and understand what they are saying to us. If we are working in any branch of science, we naturally wish to read scientific books and magazines in other languages. Making business nowadays also means knowing foreign languages because of the growing international business contacts. Knowing foreign languages helps people of different countries to develop mutual friendship and understanding. We can also make our intellectual and cultural horizons wider through contacts with people of another culture. It is also very interesting to read foreign literature in the original. We can also read foreign newspapers and magazines and to understand films in foreign languages without any help. Learning foreign languages is compulsory in all the secondary and higher schools in our country. English is a very popular language. People use it in many parts of the world and there is a lot of business correspondence and literature in English. I think, it is very important to know at least one foreign language - English, German, French, Spanish or any other one. In conclusion I would like to say that now there are more than 60 countries that speak English as the dominant or official language. My purpose is to show you why the English is a world language. The present day world status of English is the result of two factors: the expansion of British colonial power, which peaked towards the end of the 19th century, and the emergence of the US as the leading economic power of the 20th century. English is the chief language of international business and academic conferences, and the leading language of international tourism. English is the main language of popular music, advertising, home computers and video games. Most of the scientific, technological and academic information in the world is expressed in English. Reading plays a very important role in the life of people. It educates a person, enriches his intellect. Books help to mould a person's character, from his moral values. Besides, books bring pleasure and delight. It's a wonderful way of spending spare time. Sometimes we read the same book again and again. Thanks to books we learn to express our thoughts and feelings more exactly. The book is faithful and understanding friend. It can be put aside and taken up again at any moment. There are books which have been our favorites since childhood. People are fond of reading different kinds of books. Some people enjoy reading detective stories, adventure stories, novels, biographies, other prefer classics. Fairy tales are enjoyed and read by children, books about adventures and journeys are enjoyed by those who are fond of traveling. Legends and myths are read by those who are fond of history. Some people developed much time to reading books and reading becomes their free time occupation, their passion. Through out the centuries books had an enormous influence on the minds and hearts of people. Books bind together ages, personalities. Thanks to books we can talk to people who lived in different countries and ages. Through reading books we hear their voices, thoughts and feelings. The book is the surest way to bring nations together. It helps people achieve understanding, trust, cooperation and friendship. Books awaken the young reader's imagination. They develop literary taste, arouse interest and curiosity, the reader's laugher as well as his tears. They teach the readers to be truthful, friendly, honest decisive, conscientious, frank, firm, fair and serious. People reflect their life in art. Real, live art appeals to the heart and mind of man, to his feelings and ideals and it proclaims life. Art is truthful only when it serves life, only when the artist hopes to arouse a warm response in the heart of man. Art belongs to the people. The history of art from the Renaissance to our days confirms this. There are nearly a thousand museums in Russia, many of them being world famous. The largest collection of Russian art is the Tretyakov Art Gallery in Moscow. It is a real treasury of canvases by prominent Russian painters. It contains priceless collections of icons, 17-20th centuries paintings and sculptures and contemporary Russian painting and sculpture. One of the largest and most remarkable museums of the world is the Hermitage, more than three hundred halls housing its exhibitions of articles of the greatest artistic value. The museum's collections now comprise work of various periods in the development of art, from ancient times up to the present day. Famous painters from different countries are represented there. The Russian Museum in St. Petersburg is another picture gallery which contains the richest collection of Russian paintings of 18-19th centuries and the best collection of Russian sculpture. In the Pushkin Museum of the Fine Arts in Moscow the art of the Ancient East and Western Europe is represented. This museum possesses a unique collection of copies of the finest sculptures of the old time. It is in this museum that many famous foreign expositions of the Fine Arts are displayed almost every year. Music plays an important role in our life. It was born together with people. It reflects the world around us by means of combination of tones, rhythm and melody. Music can help to relax and to have a rest; it provokes our deepest emotions and fills our hearts with kindness, joy and happiness. First musicians used primitive instruments: whistles, pipes, and drums. ............