My English Studies

Learning a foreign language is not an easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and ef­forts.

We started with the ABC, transcription and sounds. Then we learnt some English words, conversa­tional phrases and dialogues by heart, read and translated easy texts, did exercises, wrote dictations. From lesson to lesson we improved our knowledge, learnt more and more new words, grammatical structures and put them into practice of speaking. You can't speak English well if you don't know grammar rules, so we often revised them.

Soon we were able not only to read and translate texts but to discuss their contents in English, to communicate with one another making useful statements in real-life situations. I'm not a good speaker of English yet. It takes me long to read English book in the original. But I hope that soon I shall know English well.

English is not an easy language to learn. There is a big problem of spelling, of the large number of exceptions to any rule. This language is very idiomatic and the prepositions are difficult to remember. English is one of those languages which may seem easy in the beginning, but then the bridge between basic knowl­edge and mastery takes a long time to cross. But if you do cross this bridge it will give you great satisfaction. You will be able to speak to people from other countries, to read foreign authors in the original, which makes your outlook wider. It is not surprising that many intellectuals and well-educated people know many foreign languages.

I want to know foreign languages because I have always been interested in foreign countries, their cultures and peoples. I want to learn English because it has become the international language, the language of progressive sci­ence and engineering. To know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated man, for every good specialist.

Vocabulary

Questions:

1. When did you start to learn English?

2. What do you do in your English lessons?

3. What is more different for you in learning English?

4. Is English necessary for your future profession?

5. Do you get on well with your teacher?

Sport

Sport is a special world of its own. All people are fond of sports and games. Sport makes us healthy, keeps fit, more organized and better disciplined. It unites people of different classes and nationalities.

Many people do sports on their personal initiative. They practise skiing, skating, table tennis, swimming, volleyball, football, body-building, etc. All necessary fa­cilities are provided for them: stadiums, sport grounds, swimming pools, skating rinks, skiing stations, football fields. Sport is paid much attention to in our educational establishments.

Professional sport is paid much attention to in our republic. There are different sporting societies, clubs and complexes. The most famous of them are the Olympic complexes " Raubichi", " Staiki", " Dinamo" stadium, etc.

In the last years Belarusian sportsmen take an active part in the world sports movement and in the Olympic Games. Major victories have been won by our gymnasts, weight-lifters, wrestlers, chess and tennis players. O. Korbut, V. Scherba, I. Ivankov, T. Samusenko, A. Med-ved, N. Zvereva, B. Gelfandt — these are prominent names in their own fields. They won fame for themselves and for our republic. Vitaly Scherba, for example, won six gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona in 1992. We are all proud of his victory.

But sport is not just for participants; it's for specta­tors too. Millions of people all over the world spend hours every week watching sport events on television, or at sta­diums. They enjoy being " fans" or supporters of this or that team, and many professionals are now as popular and famous as the greatest Hollywood film stars.

Of course, spectators particularly enjoy watching in­ternational matches and contests. Such events as the Olympic Games or the Football World Cup attract more and more spectators as time goes by.

Sports are very much the same in most countries, but some sports are more popular than others. Nowadays football, gymnastics and tennis enjoy the greatest popu­larity in all countries.

As for me I go in for table tennis. It needs mobility, liveliness and much energy. It keeps a person in a good form. I have been playing tennis for five years, but the more I play the more I like it. I get a real joy taking part in competitions or simply playing with my friends. Sometimes I go to tennis courts. Certainly, it's a great distance between my manner of playing and such favourites as Jim Courier, Pete Sampas, Boris Backer, Per Korda, but I do my training with great pleasure and hope to play as well as the best players do.

Questions:

1. What kind of sport do you know?

2. What sports are popular in Great Britain and in Belarus?

3. Can you name some Belarusian sportsmen?

4. What you know about Olympic Games?

5. Do you do any sports?