New York is the largest city in the USA and the biggest seaport. It is the business centre of the United States.New York is situated in the mouth of the Hudson river. In comparison with such ancient historical cities as, say, Rome, London, Moscow or Paris, New York is quite young.

The American flag is often called "The Stars and Stripes", it is also called "Old Glory". It represents the growth of the nation. It has 13 horizontal stripes,7 red and 6 white which stand for the original 13 states.

America was founded by Columbus in 1492. Columbus fled to this country because of persecution by Ferdinand and Isabella, who refused to believe the world was round. Before Columbus reached America he cried "Ceylon! Ceylon!" because he wanted to see India.

The majority Americans live in or near large cities, but small living-town is still widespread. A suburb (a small community near a big city) offers the advantages of safer, more intimate small-town life with the recreational and cultural activities of the big city nearby.

Why do so many new ideas come from California? It must be something in the air. New lifestyles, new kinds of medicine, new religions, new house styles - so many new things come from California. Let's talk about bungalows, for example.

They have three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Most of Americans don't eat home but prefer to go to res­taurants. They can choose from many kind of restaurants. There is a great number of ethnic restaurants in the United States.

In 1937 the McDonnald brothers, Dick and Mark, opened little restaurant in California. They served hot dogs and milk shakes. In 1945 they have 20 waiters. All the teenagers in town ate hamburgers there.

In Britain all children from five to sixteen go to school. They spend six years in "primary" school and then go on to "secondary" school. In Britain there are "state" schools, which are free and private schools for which parents pay.

On July 4 the Americans celebrate their national holi­day - Independence Day. The United States gained inde­pendence as a result of gradual and painful process.

Halloween is a festival that takes place on October 31. In the United States children wear costumes and masks and go trick-or-treating. Many of them carve jack-o'-lan s out of pumpkins.

Almost in every culture in the world there is a celebration of thanks for rich harvest. The American Thanksgiving began as a feast of thanksgiving almost four hundred years ago.

Americans play tennis, hockey and most other international sports but they do not play football in the same way as the rest of the world. The players can run with the ball, touch and push each other.

Our youth is mostly similar to the youth abroad in many aspects of life. Numerous youth organizations have been formed since the Second World War, uniting young people from all classes and sections of the population.

Hobbies are & great British and American tradition. A hobby is a special interest or activity that you do in your time off. A "hobby" is usually something that a person does alone.

Many British people don't think about clothes very much. In Britain, as well as in the USA, men in of f icesusually wear suits and ties and women wear dresses or skirts (not trousers). Doctors, lawyers and business people wear quite formal clothes.

Canada is the second largest country in the world. Only Russia has a greater land area. Canada is situated in North America. Canada is slightly larger than the United States, but has only about a tenth as many people.

The Great Barrier Reef on the coast of Queensland is a garden under the sea. There are 1,400 different kinds of fish, and more than 300 kinds of coral. Tropical fruit and flowers grow on the beautiful islands.

Most Australians have been dreaming of a white Christmas for centuries. But the traditional European Christmas is just a myth for Australians. Santas wearing thick woollen clothes don't fit with Australia's thirty-degree heat.

There are many animals in Australia that you cannot see anywhere else. Did you know that? Of course, you did! I personally divide Australian animals into three categories: the good, the bad, the ugly. I think, it's reasonable.

A lot of Australians think you shouldn't worry too much about life. But some things in life are really important, and to many Australian men, one of these things is sport. It's something they don't joke about. Sport matters.

New Zealand is an island country in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1 600 km southeast of Australia and about 10 500 km southwest of California. New Zealand belongs to a large island group called Polynesia.

Way of Life New Zealand have a high standard of living. New Zealanders eat more butter and meat per person than do the people of any other country. The government's medical program provides excellent health care.

William Turner, a great romantic English landscape painter, was born in Devonshire in 1775. He lived with his uncle in Middlesex, where he began to attend school.

William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens remain two of the most popular and widely known British writers all over the world. Dickens began his writing career as a journalist, and all his novels were first published serially in periodicals.

Perhaps the best known of the Russian writers is Leo Tolstoy. He was the son of rich landowner. His parents died when he was 9. He spent his time drinking and gambling and not caring about anything but pleasure.

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564. His father was a rich citizen whose business was making and selling leather gloves. His mother was the daughter of an important farmer. When he was nineteen, William married Anne.

Stratford-on-Avon, where Shakespeare was is now one of the most popular tourist centres. But it was not so many years ago.

Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, was born on January 25, 1759 in Scotland. His father, William Burns, was a poor farmer, There were seven children in the family, and Robert was the eldest.

Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on October 16, 1854. His father was a famous Irish surgeon. His mother was well known in Dublin as a writer of verse and prose. At school, and later at Oxford, Oscar displayed gift for art and the humanities.

In the history of English literature Jerome K. Jerome occupies a modest place. He cannot be compared with Dickens, Thackeray, or Bernard Shaw, but he is well known as a writer-humorist not only in his country but in another countries too.

Charlotte Bronte was born in a small town in England in 1816. Charlotte and her sisters, Emily and Ann had a very hard life, from early childhood they knew poverty and very hard work.

Lewis Carroll was the pen-name of Charles L. Dodgson, the man who wrote a famous book for children "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Charles L. Dodgson was born in England in 1832. He got his early education at a public school.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American writer born in Salem, grew up with his widowed mother and his books. He attended college and returned to Salem with intentions to be a writer. He published his first novel in 1828, and was disappointed by its failure.