Our school is very big. It's a modern three storied building of typical design. We do quite a lot of subjects at school. They are: Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Literature, Russian, English, History of this country and many other subjects. It is rather difficult to go to school when a school-leaver, we have so much to do. I know that all the subjects are important and they all must be paid much attention to, but still I didn't like exact sciences. I spend much time on doing them at home. However hard I tried all those formulas and definitions were mixed up in my head and I couldn't make it out after all. So I had nothing to do but sit for two or three hours swotting Physics, Chemistry and Maths. My favourite subjects are Literature, History, English. Most of all I like English. I read English books, try to translate some articles from the newspaper "Moscow News" from English into Russian and vice versa. I have some English books and they are of great help to me when I study English grammar and do some exercises. At our English lesson we read quite a lot of dull texts from our textbooks. But in my view, written texts and textbooks are not important. The best way to improve your language skills and habits is to work at a language laboratory. I spend plenty of time listening to the tapes, imitating the sounds and intonations of the native speakers of English. I am working hard at my pronunciation because my teacher said that it was my weak point. I decided to take my entrance exams to the Institute because I want to know English. Nowadays it's impossible to do without forcing languages. Besides one can't be a learned and well-educated person if one doesn't know at least one foreign language. Protection of Environment
    Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony -with environment. But with the development of civilization man's interference with nature began to increase.
    Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. They pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we live in. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in fire.
    As a result some rare kinds of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.
    Environmental protection is a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken.
    Some progress has been already made in this direction. As many as 159 countries - members of the UNO (Union of Nations Organizations) - have set up environmental protection agencies.
    Numerous conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss questions of ecologically poor regions including the Aral Sea, the South Urals, Kuzbass, Donbass, Semipalatinsk and Chernobyl. An international environmental research centre has been set up on Lake Baikal. The international organization Greenpeace is also doing much to keep the environment.
    The Earth is our home. We must take care of it for next generations and ourselves. Russian holidays There are dates and events in the life of this our country that are memorable to every Russian citizen. The dates of this kind are: Victory Day, May Day, Constitution Day, the Women's Day, Independence Day. These are national holidays, people do not work on these days. The most memorable date is the Victory Day which is kept on the 9-th of May. On this Day we celebrate the anniversary of the victory over fascism in the World War II. May Day is regarded as the day of solidarity of the workers of the world. This day commemorates the tragic events of the years 1884- 1888 in Chicago when workers were fighting for their rights. The Women's Day, celebrated on the 8-th of March, is like Mother's Day in Great Britain. On this day you can see many men buying or carrying flowers. Children give their mothers presents, or send them postcard if they are away from home. Recently new national holidays have appeared. They are of religious origin. They are: Christmas and Easter. In Russia Christmas is celebrated on the 7-th of January. In Europe and in the USA it is marked on December 25. 0n Christmas people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Easter symbolizes the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Children like this holiday for traditional brightly painted boiled eggs and special Easter cakes. Easter cakes are sold at every bakery, but home-made ones are always much tastier. There is one more holiday which is loved by everybody: children and adults. This is New Year's Eve. People decorate New Year trees with toys and lights and believe that a miracle is a must on this day. 0n the New Year night people go to dancing, visit their friends or stay at home and watch TV. It's my favourite holiday. Sport in Our Life
    People all over the world are fond of sports and games. Sport makes people healthy, keeps them fit, more organized and better disciplined. Some people go in for sports for their health and some for professional aims. There are many stadiums, sport grounds, swimming pools, football fields in each town. Practically all kinds of sports are popular in this country but football, figure-skating and tennis enjoy the greatest popularity. A lot of people are fond of jogging. In the morning and in the evening we can see people jogging in the parks, stadiums and even in the streets. In every school pupils spend much time going in for sports. First of all they have their physical training lessons. And when school is over they may train at different sports clubs and sections in different kinds of sport.
    Professional sport is also paid much attention to in this country. ............