Political and Economic Situation in Ukraine
- The grave economic crisis in Ukraine greatly influences the political situation in this country.
- Many political parties only discuss the current political situation but they are unable to improve it.
- To my mind, they only fight for their candidates for forthcoming elections.
- Thanks to our politicians Ukraine was recently involved in a political and economical gas war between Ukraine and Russia.
- People from western countries suffered from the lack of gas.
- Russia accused Ukraine of stealing gas and that’s why Ukraine had some difficulties in relations with the West European countries.
- The rising of the course of dollar is also one of the urgent economic problems nowadays.
- That’s why medicine, different goods, vehicles have risen in price almost in twice in Ukraine.
- Many politicians only criticize the Ukrainian Government for its inability to solve the urgent economic problems among which are the rise of unemployment, the delay of wage payments and the falling of industrial and agricultural production.
- The reforms of the education system and the public health services are also discussing in Mass Media.
- The political situation in the present day Ukraine is very dramatic and unstable but I believe that it is steadily moving towards a better future.
East or West – Home is best
“East or West – Home is best”, as an English proverb says. It’s true. There is no place like home. Varva is my native town. My parents, grandparents and all my relatives live here. We are so happy to have such a great home land. It is not a very big town on the picturesque banks of the river Udai. It has a memorable history and a rich culture. There is an oil and gas plant in Hnidyntsi not far from Varva. The people of our town are proud of its places of interest. There is a park with its monument to those who didn’t come back from the World War II there. If you come to our place for couple of days I will show you my gymnasium, a new church and we’ll drop into our best café to have a snack. You will be also surprised of kindness and politeness of our people. It’s a pity we have no concert-halls or theatres but you may enjoy watching new films at our local cinema. We have a lot of opportunities to go in for sports because there is a big stadium in the centre of our town.
Varva is especially unique in spring. It is very green and its streets turn into one blooming garden.
To tell the truth, I am so lucky to be born in such a beautiful town.
American Press
There is no real national press in the USA as there are more than 85 newspapers published in 34 languages. There exist two main groups of newspapers: qualities and populars. Only 2 or 3 newspapers with the largest circulation tell their readers about some rumours or crimes.
Quality newspapers contain only reliable serious information. They may also publish cartoons. “The Wall Street Journal”, “The New York Daily News”, “The USA Today”, “The New York Times” have the largest circulation among the daily newspapers.
The main function of press in America is to give objective information. The materials should be given in full volume and newspapers should give floor to all possible facts and opinions. There is also no secret information for the press. The information is usually taken from the News Agencies. The largest and most famous of them are: Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI). There also exist about 122 domestic and foreign news bureaus in the USA.
There are over 4000 monthly and 1300 weekly magazines in the USA. Among them are: “National Geographic”, “Reader’s Digest”, “Cosmopolitan”, “Time”, “Vogue” and others. Women’s magazines publish all sorts of recipes, stories about local or outstanding women, furnishing questions and other items.
Publishing books in America is rather a prosperous business. America is on the 9th place in the world by the books, published and read. Public libraries always organize book sales. Most newspapers and magazines publish chapters from the books of young authors.
My Last Winter Holidays
I spent my last winter holidays in Varva. This year I did not go anywhere. Our winter holidays began on the 27th of December. On that day we had a New Year party at school. We had prepared an amateur performance with Father Frost and Snow-Maiden. There were different competitions, we played different games. Then we had a dance party. That day we had a lot of fun.
I like winter for a number of holidays we celebrate at the beginning of a new year. First of all this is New Year Day. On the 7th of January our family celebrates Christmas. I like this holiday very much too.
The period of the winter holidays is rich in different shows and performances. This year we chose the show in the circus. I think there is nobody in the world who can be tired of the circus. I liked the clowns most of all. Their tricks were so funny.
But the time during the holidays flies so quickly. Certainly, I read some books which I dreamt to read but I didn’t have free time for this.
This year the weather was really New Year’s one. It was rather snowy and one day we set off to the hill to ski. We had a nice day there.
I liked my last winter holidays very much.
Flashcard Stories
Level: Beginning +
Provides Practice of: speaking, listening
Grammar: any chosen by the teacher or student
Vocabulary: any chosen by the teacher or student
Materials: flashcard pictures
Time: 15 minutes
Procedure: Choose about 5-6 flashcards from the pile that will make a story. Give each group of students one set. As a warm up, ask them to put together what they think the story is that you thought about beforehand. Ask the students to show the rest of the class their flashcards while telling their story. Then, you can tell the students the teacher version of the story. After this warm-up activity, give each group of students a set of approximately 20-30 flashcards or more if available. The students have 5 minutes to create a story using as many flashcards as possible, without skipping cards (they must use each flashcard as it is picked from the top of the pile). Allow each group to tell their stories. Usually, they will be very funny and creative, sometimes not making sense at all, and sometimes very elaborate. The group which used the most cards wins. If a lot of time is available, you may also ask students to write down their stories as they pick up each flashcard from the pile.