ЭКЗАМЕНАЦИОННЫЕ ТЕМЫ ПО АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ

9-ый класс

20. Growing up can cause problems. Do you have any problems with your friends, your parents and other people around you? How do you cope with these problems?

It’s hard not to see that teenagers nowadays have a lot of problems. One of the real problems is having no close friend. Several days ago I had a best friend, but now I don’t. My friend was much more to me than just a person with whom I communicated. We were as thick as thieves. We helped each other to survive and got along well. But some days ago we quarrelled, and now I’m at a loss what to do. Fortune turned its back on me and I feel very lonely. I can’t say that my parents don’t understand me, they try to support me; but I think only time can heal me. Some young people are just sure that their parents don’t want to understand them. It’s a very serious problem. I’m sure that this point of view is absolutely wrong.

Psychologists believe, parents-child conflicts cannot be avoided in a society that is undergoing rapid change. In our society youngsters are at odds with their parents on a wide range of issues, from how late they can stay up, to whom they should marry. It’s called a generation gap. But I think our parents are people whom we can trust. In most cases teens don’t understand their parents and become very nervous. When this happens, it’s time to say to yourself “stop”, and try to find in your parents more positive than negative traits. Our parents should understand one thing, that today’s children will become tomorrow’s society. So they should try to understand the child; they should find out about teen problems and help solve them.

The other very important problem is our school life. Teens are often under pressure in many ways at school – they are supposed to be “macho” – good at school subjects, able to stand up for themselves without crying. If they can’t, they are “wimps”, and often children will tease and bully them, especially at school. But all children are different – they have different needs and talents, likes and dislikes. Teens are not just “machos” and “wimps”, they are rebels and conformists, extroverts and introverts. Our teachers and our parents should assure us that all these types of people are good, and it will reduce a lot of our problems.

Teenager’s Problems

There are so-called “problem teenagers”, who take drugs. A large number of teens use them very often. They are drug addicts. I don’t have such friends and I think that there should be special programmes to solve this problem.

Drugs Destroy Lives

Another problem is connected with biorhythms. Not all people know what it is, and they begin to laugh at you and can offend you, when sometimes you are all fingers and thumbs, when you are accident-prone, or when your temper seems to be on a short fuse. It is because we all have an internal “body clock” which regulates the rise and the fall of our bodies’ energies and it’s called biorhythms. So our teachers, parents and classmates should understand it and not pay attention to it because it’s the law of our life and nature.

My other serious problem is to enter a good university and find a good job afterwards. But unemployment rates are extremely high – even qualified people with great knowledge can’t find something good. But in spite of that I hope for the best.

I always want to impress people. But the first impression we make almost fully depends on what we wear and how we wear it. Manners and speech are noticed next and character only later. Many teens have the same taste. They like to keep up-to-date with the changes in our society. They like to wear clothes which look good and which you feel comfortable in. Being in fashion makes you feel good, in tune with the world you live in. But when you are at school it is important to wear the right clothes, even formal ones, and not to dress up. I understand it, but some of my classmates don’t. They like to shock their teachers and parents, and provoke them, and that’s why they have some problems at school. So you should have some “clothes sense” to know and feel the types of things that are your style in formal situations (when you are at school) and at parties.

As for me nowadays, I try to cope with all my problems alone, or with the help of my parents. My parents are real friends and they understand me and try to help me or give advice.

So if someone denies all of the problems teenagers have, they are not being honest. Teens have a lot of problems. But the first thing we have to think about is the future we’re building for ourselves and our children. The better we are now, the better we understand one another, the better our place will be when we grow up.

Questions:

1. Do your parents understand you? Why?
2. What problems do you have with your parents?
3. What problems do you have at school?
4. What problems do teens have at school?
5. Is it fair to say that your parents don’t understand anything? Why?
6. What do you know about a generation gap?
7. Do all parents help their children? Why?
8. In what way do teenagers try to impress people?
9. What problems do you have with your friends?
10. How do you cope with your problems?

21. Learning English is becoming more popular in Russia. Why do people learn English in this country? Do you think you can do without English in your future life?

The English language is now the first language of about 400 million people, the native language of 12 nations and the official or semiofficial language of 33 more nations. That means one in every seven people in the world speaks English. The English language has become the “new Latin” of the century, the world’s top tongue. One billion people speak English. That’s 20% of the world population. For the other 600 million it’s either a second language or a foreign language. There are more than 500,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary. Compare that with the vocabulary of German (about 200,000) and French (about 100,000). At present no other language on the Earth is better suited to play the role of a world language.

There are many reasons for its popularity. First, English is easier to learn than most other languages. Second, it borrows words and phrases from the very countries into which it expands. Eighty percent of all English vocabulary comes from other languages. For example, such words as pork, mutton, beef, etc. were borrowed from French; book, renew, water etc. were borrowed from German; library, renovate, aquatic, etc. were borrowed from Latin; bibliography, hydraulic, telephone, television, etc. were borrowed from Greek. Many words have entered English as a result of trade and colonial expansion: alcohol and algebra come from Arabic; divan and khaki from Persian; chocolate and tomato from native American languages; tea and tycoon from Chinese.

English is so widespread nowadays because it has become the standard language for all kinds of international communication: 80% of all information in the world’s computers is in English; nearly 50% of all the companies in Europe communicate with one another in English; 75% of all international letters and telexes are in English. English is also the international language of businesspeople, pilots, diplomats and politicians, sportsmen and scientists, doctors and students, musicians and singers.

Nowadays in Russia the English language has become the most popular among foreign languages. There are many very good reasons to learn this language. Our country is a part of Europe and the world. Very little clear and detailed communication can occur among people who don’t have a common language. Learning English helps in talking to people, in reading and writing, in understanding TV and films from other countries, and opens up much a wider range of sources of information. Then when you travel in different countries you can manage a lot better if you understand and people understand you. When you speak English to people, they’re often a lot more friendly and helpful. English is the language of communication between different peoples and countries. If you are interested in science, business, medicine, literature and music and you want to be up to date with progress in those fields, you can always read the latest report in English and know the latest information about the question you are interested in.

Learning English broadens your mind and way of thinking. So English is a global language nowadays. Problems of the 21st century, such as the problems of war and peace, ecology, demographics, democracy and many others can not be solved if people do not speak the same language. I think that English is going to become even more important as a global language, dominating world trade, computers and media, while other languages will become localised or just die out.

I think it’s very valuable and helpful in learning English if you start it from an early age. Maybe people can learn the best up to about the age of 20, as they have a lot of time for it, which later isn’t possible. Learning English is not like learning maths or science, because it involves a different way of thinking. You have to learn to think in English. This is like music, maybe. And you have to learn the grammar and vocabulary, too, if you want to know the language well. I have been studying English since the 1st form and I hope I know English more or less now. It is one of my favourite subjects at school. Honestly, I can’t think about my future life without English. I haven’t chosen my future profession yet, but I’m up to date. I’m fond of travelling, computing, reading, art and music, and I’m sure I can’t do without English when I’m a grown-up. English will help me everywhere in my life.

Questions:

1. Why is English the global language nowadays?
2. Which vocabulary is the largest in the world?
3. What percentage of words in English comes from other countries?
4. What borrowed words in English do you know?
5. Why is English a language of communication nowadays?
6. Why do people in Russia learn English?
7. Why do you learn English?
8. What is the best suitable age to begin to learn English?
9. At what age did you begin to learn English?
10. Do you learn any other languages? Why?

By Elena Kisunko, Moscow, School No. 651,
Elena Muzlanova, Moscow, School No. 1537