I have a lot of friends. Most of them are my former school­mates. But my bosom friend is Lena. She is 16. Lena isn't very tall, but she is pretty in her own way. She has red curly hair and a turn-up nose.

I would like to tell you about my friends. I have a lot of them, but my close friend is Marina. She is my school-mate. We have been studying together in one form all the eleven years of our school-life.

It's a universal truth that every season is beautiful in its own way. Isn't it wonderful to tramp down the country lanes on a frosty winter day. Everything is white with snow and it crunches under your feet.

A year is the average time it takes the Earth to go once round the Sun. There are months or 52 weeks or 365 days in a year. Every four years there is a leap year. It has 366 days.

Everyone knows that there are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autunm and winter. Each of them lasts 8 months. Spring comes in March and ends in May. It often rains in spring, especially in April. Summer is the hottest season in the year.

People have always polluted their surroundings, But until now pollution was not such a serious problem. People lived in uncrowded rural areas and did not have pollution - causing machines.

Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited.

Mass media or mass communications are the press, radio and television. Every day we read newspapers and magazines, listen to radio and watch TV. Nowadays there are so many newspapers and magazines, radio stations and TV channels that we have to be very - selective and give preference to some of them.

Newspaper is a publication that presents and comments on the news. Newspapers play an important role in shaping public opinion and informing people of current events. The first newspapers were probably handwritten news-sheets posted in public places.

Magazine is one of the major mass media. Magazine is a collection of articles and stories. Usually magazines also con­tain illustrations. The earliest magazines developed from newspapers and booksellers catalogs.

Television, also called TV, is one of our most important means of communication. It brings moving pictures and sounds from around the world into millions of homes.

The newspaper printing is a rather unusual activity since eaoh day the newspaper material is prepared anew. Newspaper includes editorial board work the following functions: getting the right news, writing it in the form of an article, selection of the best items for the print, and desplaying the selected copy in the paper.

Libraries play an important part in the cultural development of a country. People have a desire to learn, they seek knowledge. Books satisfy this desire. Books should not be read only for pleasure.

Libraries are very important in the life of all people. We can't buy all the books we want to read. That's why we take out books from libraries. A lot of people go to libraries on Saturdays.

Many, many years ago a town crier ran through the streets and shouted out all the news. But now we live in the Atomic Age. Too many things happen too quickly for us to learn about them in the old-fashioned way.

Nowadays it's almost impossible to imagine our life without books. Perhaps, there are more books on our planet than men alive. Long before the invention of printing people valued books as treasure troves of the human knowledge and experience.

My favourite book is "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe. D. Defoe (1660-1731) was a great master of realistic detail. The novel "Robinson Crusoe" was written in 1719.

It's said that none of the British writers of our age enjoyed such popularity all over the world as Agatha Christie did. Her works were translated into many languages, and scores of films were made using them as the script.

My favourite literary character is Elisa Doolittle. Elisa is the main character of Bernard Shaw's famous comedy "Pygmalion". Elisa is eighteen, she has a strong Cockney accent. She comes from the lowest social level.

Some people read for instruction, and some for pleasure, but not a few read from habit. I belong to that company. Let us admit that reading with us is just a drug that we cannot get along without.

Cinema plays an important role in the of any society. It is an available popular form of art. Lots of people find going to the cinema one of the best ways of spending their leisure time. The movie audience is predominantly a young one.

When I want to go to the cinema, I usually see in the programme what films are on. Then I phone my fiends and we discuss what films to see. We prefer feature films but also enjoy cartoons and popular science films.

Once I read an article about various kinds of entertain­ment. According to it TV, radio and cinema have made great changes in the entertainments with which people fill their free time.

Television now plays an important role in our life. It is difficult to say if it is good or bad for us. It is clear, that television has advantages and disadvantages. But are there more advantages than disadvantages?

Lots of people find watching films one of the best ways of spending their leisure time. Due to numerous video facilities, which have emerged in this country over the past years, we have a chance to watch the most popular and new films.

As you know, the 3-hour-14-mmute film "Titanic" is no mere disaster movie. It's an epic love story about a 17-year-old American aristocrat who is betrothed to a rich and hateful suitor but falls in love with a free-spirited artist, who won his third-class passage in a card game.

Usually we see films either in the cinema or on the TV. But from time to time I go to the cinema. My favourite film. is "War and Peace". The script of the film was written by Sergey Bondar-chuk and W. Solowjew.

My favourite actors are Mel Gibson and Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi Goldberg came a long way to her present international success. Her mother was divorced and poor. Whoopi chose a very difficult career for a black woman.

Kevin Costner - Actor Come Producer Kevin Costner, a famous american actor, was born in Los Angeles. He spent his childhood often on the move, changing schools frequently, owing to his fatlw Ь at the regional electricity company.

Many people watch TV at leisure. One can choose the programme one likes best. Those who like music can listen to various concerts. Sport fans can watch football or hockey matches.

The 20th century brought great changes into the theatre. Cinema, radio, television, video altered the course of the major performing arts and created the new ones.

Theatre is a place where you can see a play staged. It is also one of entertainments. A theatre consists of two parts: the stage and the hall. They are separated by a curtain and the orchestra.

I love music, I think people can not live without it. The first thing I do in the morning I switch on my tape - recorder. We can hear music everywhere: in the streets, in the shops, on TV, over the radio, in the cars, in the parks, everywhere.

Moscow is replete with art galleries and museums. Yet there is one gallery that remains a symbol of Russian art. It is the world-famous Tretyakov Gallery. The founder of the gallery was the entrepreneur Pavel Tretyakov (1832-1898), who was from the merchant class.

One of the world-wide known museums is the Hermitage. The word "Hermitage" means "a place of solitude". This name was given in the XVIII century by Catherine П to her private museum housed in a small building adjacent to the Winter Palace and accessible only to the chosen few.