My Speciality

I am taking my English exam after three years of studies at one of the oldest a biggest polytechnical educational institutions in our country. I am a junior, that is a third-year student, of the Faculty of Informatics and Control Systems, or the IT Faculty.

My faculty is not so old as the University is. The Vocational School was established by the Decree of the Emperor Nicholas II as far back as in 1830, the IT Faculty appeared in 1987, two years before BMSTU was given its current name. We know that a long-term history of the University has provided many examples of founding a number of the world-known schools. A lot of Russian eminent scholars such as Zhukovsky, Lebedev, Tupolev, Shukhov, Korolev and many others contributed into the development of space engineering, biophysics, radio physics, optics, laser technology and so on.

The IT Faculty prepares highly qualified specialists in IT. It is the field of science that meets the requirements of the present day society. The students of the Faculty participate in international research programs, have the opportunity to carry out further training and scientific research abroad. Why did I choose BMSTU three years ago? I chose The Chair of Software for Computers and Automation Systems because it is one of the most interesting chairs of the IT Faculty. The students of Chair 7 carry out a number of scientific projects under the guidance of their tutors. At our Chair we receive education that meets international educational standards. The Chair trains specialists in software development, complex program and information systems, database and expert systems. The postgraduates of the Chair work in many leading research centers all over the world. The most stated reason for me to enter the University was the University's academic reputation and high standard tutelage. What am I planning to focus on after graduating from the University?

Great Britain

"Great Britain" has several different names. Some people say "Britain", or "the United Kingdom", or just "UK". There are four different countries in the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Altogether more than 56 million people live in Britain, many of them in big industrial cities like London, Liverpool and Manchester. Northern Ireland is situated in the northern part of Ireland. The territory of the United Kingdom is about 244 square kilometers. It takes the 75th place among other countries in the world. The population is over 55 million. About 80% of the population is urban. The capital of the country is London.

Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, the narrower part of which is called the Strait of Dover. The British Isles are surrounded by the shallow waters of the Irish Sea and the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the North Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. Britain is comparatively small, but there is hardly a country, in the world where such a variety of scenery can be found. The southern and south-eastern parts of the island lie in varied lowlands. The rivers of the region are short and of no great importance as waterways. The longest of them is the "Father of London", the Thames, which is a little over 200 miles. Britain's principal ports are London, Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, Glasgow. They have splendid harbors, for the coast line is very Indented. Owing to the shape of the country, any point in Great Britain is no more than 70 miles from the sea. The warm currents in the Atlantic Ocean influence the climate of Great Britain. The winters are not severely cold, while summers are rarely hot. The British Isles are well - watered throughout the year. The cloudiness is rather dense, well over half the days of the year are overcast - fogs along the coast frequently hide the sun. The fogs of London, often made severe by mixture with city smoke have a world - wide reputation, but the one not to be envied. Rivers in Great Britain are seldom frozen and generally ice-free. The grass remains green all the year round. Thanks to climatic conditions, Britain in truth looks like one great well-order.

The United Kingdom is a monarchy and the Queen is the head of state. But in practice it is ruled by the elected government with a Prime Minister at the head. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. There are three main political parties in Great Britain: the London, the Conservative and the Liberal parties, The Conservative party is the ruling party nowadays.

The flag of the United Kingdom is often called the Union Flag, or the Union Jack. It consists of several flags. In 1603 Scotland was joined to England and Wales. The Scottish Flag, St.Andrew's Cross (the patron saint of Scotland, blue with a white cross from corner to corner, was joined to the English flag, StGeorge's Cross (the patron saint of England), white with a red upright cross. Later, in 1801, the Irish Flag of St.Patrick's Cross (the patron of Ireland) was added, white with a red cross from corner to corner.

#2

The United Kingdom of G.B. and Northern Irelands is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consists of two large islands, G.B. and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometers. The British Isles are separated from European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of GB is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.

The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called the Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands. There are a lot of rivers in GB, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. Many rivers have been joint by the channels, so, it is possible to travel to any part of the country by water.

The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles, so it is mild and damp. The weather in GB is very changeable. British joke that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon and when it rains all day long. The weather is the favorite conversational topic in GB. The best time of the year in GB is spring. The two worst months in Britain are January and February. They are cold, damp and unpleasant. The best place in the world then is at home by the big fire. Summer months are rather cold and there can be a lot of rainy days, so most people who look forward to summer holidays, plan to go abroad for the summer. The most unpleasant aspect of English weather is fog and smog. This is extremely bad in big cities, because fog spreads everywhere and so cars move along slowly and people can't see each other.

Britain has been many centuries in the making. The Romans conquered most part of Britain, but were unable to subdue the independent tribes in the West and in the North. Other invaders were Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings and Normans. For many centuries this country was known simply as England. It had a strong army and navy. It waged numerous colonial wars. In the modern world England was the first country, where capitalism was established.

The population of the country is over 57 million and about 80% of it is urban. The UK is highly developed industrial country. It’s known as one of world’s largest producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, aircraft and navigation equipment.

The United Kingdom has always played an important role in the world politics. This state is a constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its head of state. But the monarchy today has practically no power, it’s just a symbol. Executive power belongs to the Government, which is headed by the Prime Minister. The legislative power is exercised by the British parliament. It consists of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Commons plays the main role in lawmaking. It consists of 650 members of Parliament who are elected for a period of five years. The House of Lords has more than 1,000 members, although only about 250 take an active part in the work of the House. The members of the House of Lords are not elected, they inherit their seats in Parliament.

London

#1

London is one of the largest cities in the world. More than 10mln people live In London and its suburbs. London is a city of striking contrasts. Here one can come across the past and the present, the old and the modern, live side by side in mutual tolerance and respect.

In London, one can see architecture of different centuries and styles. It is inseparably connected with the history of the city. The Romans, the Saxons and the Danes settled here in turn, after them came the Normans, and brought the French civilization. London survived the Plague and the Great Fire, which followed in 1666. During the Fire all wooden houses were smashed to the ground and a New London, London of stone with bigger houses and wider streets was built. During the World War II, many buildings of great historic value lay in ruins and today the face of London is changed.

Traditionally London is divided into several parts: the City, Westminster, the West End and the East End.

The city first started in the place, which is known as the City. It is the Heart of London, ifs commercial and business centre. It occupies a territory of a square mile. During a day, it is full of people, nearly half a million people work there.

The West End is the richest part of the city with its beautiful avenues, parks and gardens, grand hotels, theatres and fashionable shops. It is a symbol of wealth and luxury.

While the City is the money of London and the West End is the good of London, the East End is the hands of London, that built the banks of the City and beautiful mansions and hotels of the West End. It is a district, inhabited by the workers. There are many factories and the Port of London there.

If there had been no Thames, there would be no London. It was born many centuries ago in the place, which is known as the City. The City is not only the centre of business. It's the birth place of London. London was born in the place not far from St. Paul's cathedral hundreds of years before our era. It was called Lynn-din (the lonely port) at that time. After the Norman Conquest, it became Londinium.

If you want to get some glimpses of London, you'd better start sightseeing with the Tower of London, that comes first among the historic buildings of the city. It was built as the fortress after the Norman invasion of England in 1066. It has been used as the Royal Palace, as an observatory, an arsenal and a prison. For many visitors the principal attraction is the Crown Jewels, the finest precious stones of the nation.

A twenty minutes' walk from the Tower will take you to another historic building - St. Paul's Cathedral, the greatest of English churches. It was built by a famous English architect Sir Christopher Wren. St. Paul's Cathedral, with its famous Whispering Gallery, is considered to be a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture. In one of its towers hangs one of the largest bells in the world - Great Paul.

Not far from the Cathedral is Westminster Abbey. It was founded by Edward the Confessor in 1050. The best part of the Abbey is a wonderful chapel, dating back to the 16 century. It is famous for its magnificent architecture. There are many monuments and statues there. Many English kings and queens are buried there. Since William the 1^st almost ever monarch has been crowned in this great church. One of the greatest treasures of the Abbey is oaken Coronation Chair made in 1300. On the south side of Westminster Abbey is Poet's Corner, where the greatest English writers are buried. Here also are memorials to Shakespeare, Burns, Byron, Scott and so on. Across the road from Westminster Abbey is Westminster Palace, which is spread magnificently on the north bank of the Thames. It is a remarkable example of Gothic architecture.

#2 (вроде, из Орловской)

It is known that the area around London was inhabited (населять) by the Celts. Later the Romans founded a military camp there. The camp developed into a port. The area of about square mile where the Romans built their fortifications corre­sponds approximately to today present City of London. London was the capital of one of the Roman provinces of Britain. After the Romans left Britain, London became less important and suffered greatly from the Danes and Vikings. It was under Henry the First in the 12th century that London finally became the capital of England. In the 16th century London, with its 500,000 inhabit­ants, was the largest city in England. Under Queen Elizabeth the First in the 17th century England dominated the oceans and be­came the Empire. It is in the Elizabethan Age that art, culture and literature flowered, especially in London. Over the centuries Lon­don became the centre of a constantly growing empire. The em­pire reached its apex (вершина) under Queen Victoria. In­dustrialization and the expansion of international trade brought London power, growth and cultural and economic development. In the First and Second World Wars London was ruined consider­ably.

Some 9 million people now live in London and its suburbs, and the city covers an area of 620 square miles, making it one of the largest of the world's capitals. One reason for its size is that the English people like to live in small houses and have small gardens. As a result, less than 5,000 people live in the City of London, while more than half a million come here to work in the daytime. Today London is the capital of Great Britain and is also the seat of the Royal Family, the Parliament, the major administrative bodies and scientific institutions.

The Houses of Parliament stand on the bank of the Thames at Westminster Abbey. Actually it is one building but it is called «Houses» as it consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. It was set up in the 13th century. At one end of the Houses of Parliament there is a tower with a large clock. The largest bell, known as Big Ben, chimes in (отбивать часы) the hour.

Westminster Abbey was a monastery built in the 8th century. It is one of the best examples of the Early English architecture. The kings and queens of England are buried there. Many great states­men, writers and poets are also buried there.

In the centre of London there is one of the most beautiful squares — Trafalgar Square which was named so to commemorate (в честь) Nelson's victory in the battle of Trafalgar. There is a monument in its centre known as Nelson's Column.

In the vicinity of Trafalgar Square is Whitehall which is now a street of government offices. Not far from Whitehall is Downing Street. Number 10 Downing Street is the residence of the Prime Minister of England. The Cabinet meets there. One must mention the British Museum. It is one of the most extensive and valuable museums in West Europe, It was founded in 1753. It also com­prises the National Library. There are other numerous museums and galleries displaying interesting finds from all parts of the world and from all stages in the development of nature, man and art. There are also two large opera houses, the National Theatre and 50 other theatres. Monuments of past greatness are every­where in London.