A - level

1.My Family

My name is Blanka Kurková and I have one brother, mother and stepfather. I have been studying Grammar school in Hodonín. I was born on 12th May 1978. I am quite tall and not fat. I have brown hair, round face with brown eyes and small nose. I was wearing glasses but I was on operation, so I don’t need them now. When I was a child, I was very cheeky and naughty.


On primary schools I used to bring home notes from my teacher: “She fights on pauses.” “She broke the window. Come and repair it, please.” And so on. One day my classmate kicked me to face and kicked out my tooth. I was wearing braces those days and it complicated that situation.


Now I stopped fighting with boys and find another was of dispersion. I am interested in modern music, especially dance-floor, rock and metal. I am not very fond of rave or rap but to be true, I have to say that some of these songs are nice too. I like going to the discos not for drinking there but for dancing. I love dancing although I have never gone to a dancing course. I play the viola, the violin, the flute and keyboards. This proves my interest in classic music. I love reading books, especially poems and long-short stories for they are short, clear, nice and deep. I don’t watch television very much.


I choose only old films or films, which were awarded by some film prize (Oscar). Instead I visit theatres, I like musicals, classic and modern plays, operas and ballets. It is my most expensive hobby. And it is worth to mention that I am engaged to a to very nice boy Zdeněk. My mother: My mother’s name is Štěpánka Kurková. She is 41 and she works in First Newspaper Company as deliverer. She is not as tall as I am and she is slim. She has dark brown hair and eyes and a tired face with small wrinkles. She is very pretty. She is strict and loves order that’s why she takes care of household. Her biggest hobby is cooking but she hates washing up, so my stepfather bought her a dishwasher. She is very interested in sawing and watching television, when she has a time. But she says that she never has a time because she helps my stepfather with work.


My stepfather: His name is Jaroslav Tesařík and he is 35. He is slim but not very tall. He is a businessman. He has a vine firm. He loves his job and it his biggest hobby. He also interests in electronics and loves improving things. My brother: My brother is younger than I am. He is 14 and he is in the 6th form of primary school in Prušánky. He is small and very slim; he has got short blond hair and blue eyes. He is not very clever. He gets bad marks in school, fives, fours and threes. Ones he gets only from P. E. He is very lively and naughty. He has many friends. He likes playing football with them and he is scout.



Our house
I live with my mother, my stepfather and my brother in a new house in Prušánky. We moved to this house in the beginning in September. It is attached house with two floors, garage, my stepfather’s office and, wine cellar and a small garden. On the first floor, there is a kitchen, dining room, living room and a toilette with a shower.


In kitchen we have fridge, dishwasher, microwave oven, normal oven with cooker, small table and kitchen unit with dishes, bowls, plates (soap plates, dinner plates), cutlery (knives, forks, spoons, ladles, cooking spoons), frying pans, sauce pans, kettles, hood, sink, pantry. In the dining room there is a big table with four chairs and a cupboard with nice glasses. On the right side there is a sofa and under the window there are two palm trees.


The living room is not ready yet. There is no carpet on the floor. Armchairs and two tabourets and the table are quite old. Furniture unit is decorated by many plants and on the shelves there are nice books. There are glasses and pottery pieces. There is also a bar and as it usual also TV set, video recorder with remote control and Hi-fi tower (record player, cassette recorder, CD player, radio unit). Upstairs, there are my brother’s bedroom, my bedroom, my parents’ bedroom and a bathroom with separate toilette. In my parents’ bedroom there are double bed, wardrobes and a TV set.


In my brother’s bedroom a big mess all the time. In my room there are two beds, two wardrobes, shelves, desk, guitar and a lot of text- and workbooks. In the bathroom, there is a large bathtub, washing machine and washbasin. The stairs are wooden.


My daily program
Each of my days is full of learning and work at home. I have a break only in weekends. I get up at six a clock. However I go to bed usually at eleven or twelve, getting up is not a problem for me. Then I try to find something to wear. After getting dressed I put my textbooks and workbooks into my bag take it downstairs. There I wash my face and my hands and dry them with a towel.


Then I go to kitchen where my Mum has prepared a breakfast for my brother and me. During eating I read newspapers. She is sorting them that time. At quarter to seven I must go to the bus. It is in Hodonín at half past seven and I am here in school at quarter to eight. First lesson starts at five to eight. Then we have a small break. Usually I have from four to eight lessons a day, in average seven lessons a day.


Each lesson takes 45 minutes and breaks are from five to twenty-five minutes long, they can take place either in our classroom or in specialized rooms, as a lab or gym. After my tuition I usually go to the bus station and wait for the bus. On my way home I sometimes do some shopping. When I come home I have to tidy up. When I am hungry, I take some from the fridge or my Mum sometimes has prepared a sandwich for me. Then I have to study, to make it more interest I listen to the music.


I study till the dinner. After I read some book or watch TV or a video. But I am not watching television very often, only if there is really good film. To be true, I am very happy when the week ends and the weekend come because I can do those things I am not allowed to do during the week. Of course, I have another big reason. My boyfriend comes back from university. I have been looking forward whole the week, so I am very happy. I can go to the walking, to the disco or to cinema with him.


I also have more time for my hobbies, as a playing the guitar and the keyboard. On Sundays I sometimes go to church, I am protestant. In general I have to say that weekend is much better than the week.


2. Hobbies and Leisure Time
There are many types of hobbies. Some of them are rather expensive. For example some Hollywood actors like collecting cars, which is a very expensive hobby. Some of the hobbies are dangerous (rock climbing, bungee jumping or paragliding). Some are romantic and some very time/consuming. It also depends on do you mean by the world hobby. Somebody admires his work and says that it is his greatest hobby.


But in general we can say that hobby is some activity, which we do for our pleasure and we like doing it. When we are bad tempered it cans change our temper positively. At the beginning I have to say, that I haven’t got many hobbies or one great hobby, because for hobby you need time. I spent a lot of time learning and learning to school. Some times I can even say that it is my hobby, especially, when I learn Maths. I like it.


I like solving difficult mathematical problems and it is almost same with Physics. I really like it. But this isn’t a real hobby, I think. When I was younger, I spent a lot of my time with a scout group. First I was only one of ordinary members, but when I grew up I became a leader of one of Girl Scout group. It was a really nice time. I was going to camps with them; we were making trips and playing games. But some years ago I had to leave them, because of my school duties. To be true I also lost the enthusiasm for doing this. I also had another great hobby. I liked playing viola. First I hated it, but as time passed I started to love it. When I had an accident, my right shoulder had to be operated and I was forced to stop playing viola.


Today when I listen to the classic music, my eyes watered. I am sad, because I can’t play. Maybe that’s why I love visiting theatres. I like visiting classical plays from Shakespeare, Molliere or some others. I like seeing operas from Giuseppe Verdi or Czech authors as Bedřich Smetana or Leoš Janáček. But nowadays I visit musicals and modern plays. I go every two months to Prague to see them. Some of them I saw two times.


This year I saw four musicals, two operas and three plays. I can say, that I am a collector of theatre tickets. If I had enough money, I would go to some theatre to London and see Shakespeare’s renowned Romeo and Juliet in original. To be true, since I started to attend this school, I didn’t only loose hobbies. I also gain one. It is our school magazine. I was an editor from very early beginning. I remember, when we had our first appointment and we were arguing about its name. After four years I became an editor in chief and now I am technical editor. It is a very difficult work but I love it.


I spend a lot of time sitting in front of the monitor screen with my fingers on the keyboard and writing and making pages. I can say, that computer is my biggest hobby. It is also very useful today. I train my English, because many programs are in English. If you want to operate computer, it is necessary for you to know English. You also have to learn some term. I am not only sitting in front of the computer, I also open it and repair it (when it is possible). I read special magazines about new software and hardware and I also can make some simple programs on my own.


I have to admit that my hobbies are boy’s hobbies, but why can’t a girl have this kind of hobbies?
It isn’t prohibited. Maybe people just can’t understand me. This is also a reason, why my friends are mostly boys. I can’t discuss a mathematical or computer problem with a girl. I never see any other girl, who is interested in computers or Maths. When I was on a computer tent camp, I was only one girl there and the boys were from the whole republic! To be true I also have a one big hobby, which is typical for girls. This hobby is my boyfriend and beside a school he occupy the most of my time.



3. The American Literature Although the roots of American literature reach to 16th century, the real history of American literature begins in the time of the American fight for independence.

1) The middle ages James Fennimore Cooper – describes American wilderness and wrote Indian novels of adventure. His masterpiece is The Last of the Mohicans. It is about a war between England and France in an Indian colony. Some tribes of Indians were with France and some with England. On of English fortresses, called William Henry, is surrounded by French army and Hurons (Indian tribe). Two daughters (Cora and Alice) of the leader of the William Henry wanted to get in.


They live many adventures and finally they reach the fortress. However they were successful, the older one, Cora is murdered by a bad Huron. The other famous books are the pioneers, The Pathfinder, The Deerslayer. Walt Whitman – a poet of democracy, freedom and sexual love. He made the American poetry independent on European poetry. He influenced the whole modern poetry with rhythmical free verse which was his innovation. His most famous collection is Leaves of Grass.




Edgar Allan Poe
A poet and short story writer, critical essayist, the founder of both scienc0fiction and the detective story. He is said that he was a genius. His best poem is Raven – on a stormy night a tires student who has lost his love asks if he will ever meet her again in some other world. His doubts are underlined by the raven’s repetition of “Never more”. The student is in delirium tremens, and the raven got there by the open window.


Poe also wrote wonderful short stories such as the Black Cat, The golden Bug, The Murders in the Rue Morgue… Herman Melville – the greatest symbolist, he sailed on seas for many years. His experiences at sea were the basis for almost all his novels. The most famous novel is Moby-Dick, the symbolic story, Moby-Dick is a name of the white whale and it means evil.



Mark Twain
Is one of the greatest US authors. He comes from the South and he worked as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi river. “Mark twain” is a river-man’s phrase meanings two-fathoms-deep. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He became famous as a humorist and story-teller. His best books are based on his own experience along the Mississippi.


It is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and the Adventures of Huckleberry Fin. These books describe the adventures of boyhood. Huck is a portrait of a frontier boy. He runs away because he is afraid that Aunt Sally will adopt him and civilize him, he is free and reminded free till the end of the book. He also took some inspiration from English history and wrote the well-known satire. He also took some inspiration from English history and wrote the well-known satire A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.



2) 20th century Upton Sinclair
The best novel is The Jungle and it is about working conditions in the Chicago slaughterhouse and living conditions of immigrants, whose labor is cheap.


Jack London
Became very popular due to describing adventurous life at the time of the gold rush. His great novel is called The Call of the Wild. After the WWI a group of writers known as the “Lost Generation” entered literature. They were influenced by the war, their experience resulted in disillusionment.


Ernst Hemingway
Was awarded Nobel Prize for his famous book The Old Man and the Sea, which is about human strength for fighting both external natural things and bad sides of his character (“A man can be destroyed but not defeated”). After WWI Hemingway became a journalist. Among his best novels belong A Farewell to Arms – it is about WWI. It is a love story of an American boy served in the Italian Ambulance Service and an English nurse. Another famous novel is For Whom the Bell Tolls, and it is a picture from Spanish Civil War.


Other novels are: Fiesta, Death in the Afternoon, A moveable Feast, and Island in the Strum. Hemingway is a master in short story writing. He committed a suicide – he shot himself.



Francis Scott Fitzgerald
Is connected with the Jazz Age of the 20s. He wrote many stories about wealthy people, for whom everything is so easy because of money. His best novel is Great Gatsby. It is about a very rich man who earns all his money by smuggling. Hi is doing this because he wants to be on the same level as Daisy, his former lover. As Ernst Hemingway, also he committed a suicide (with pills). William Faulkner – was awarded Nobel Prize. He wrote a cycle of novels dealing with all possible problems of the South: Light in August, As I Lay Dying.


John Steinbeck
Won a Nobel Prize in literature. He tried to uncover the reasons of social injustice. His best novel is The Grapes of Wrath. It is a picture of a poor family, which is exploited by the fruit-growers in California. He was also play writer. His famous play called Of Mice and Men. Other his famous works are: The Wayward Bus, East of Eden, and Travels with Charley.


Jerome David Salinger
Expressed the feelings of the post-war generation in novel The Catcher in the Rye, which is about a sincere and pure teenager who is disgusted by the frauds and insincerity of people around himself. Salinger wrote also nice short stories – Nine Stories.


William Styron
Is influenced by Faulkner and writes novels about the South of US. His excellent novel called Sophie’s Choice. It deals with the problem of Nazis concentration camps and conditions of human life in peace influences by a bitter war experience.


Alex Haley
Is a colored writer (African American). He is famous through his chronicle Roots, which goes back to the seventh generation of his ancestors. The first African, Kunta Kinte was enslaved and brought to America. Joseph Heller – wrote Catch 22. It is an antiwar novel connecting absurd black humor. 20th century poetry is famous for groups of poets and artists who gathered around 1956 in San Francisco and are called “Beat Generation”. They practiced free life, behavior and new use of language. They were disgusted by corrupt, commercial and conventional world around them. They were influenced also by Zen Buddhism teaching.



Allen Ginsberg
Visited our country several times, wrote Howl and Other Poems. Lawrence Ferlinghetti – he is still living, he visited Prague, The Naked Lunch.



Jack Kerouac
He wrote the Bible of Beat Generation On the Road. This novel is about friends wandering on their motorcycles back and forth across the continent and shows us their “beat” characters. Work: Mexico City Blues, the Town and the City, Mage. Eugene O’Neil – won a Nobel Prize. He is a play writer. He shows the bad sides of human characters and the difficult conditions people in this world have. Work: Desire under the Elms.



Tennessee Williams
Shows in his plays people’s crude, selfish, violent and cruel motives of their behavior as well as their deep desire to love and be loved. Work: A Streetcar Named Desire, Orpheus Descending, A Ca on a Hot Tin Roof. See enclosed paper.



4. British Literature
1) The middle ages The oldest literature monument of the Anglo-Saxon period is the old Germanic legend about Beowulf. This heroic poem is about the strong and courageous pagan hero Beowulf. John Wycliffe - is a professor of Oxford University. With his students he translated the whole Bible into English. He influenced Master John Huss and our Hussite movement very much.


2) The Renaissance and Humanism Geoffrey Chaucer - Canterbury Tales – brilliant portrait of 30 pilgrims who travel to Canterbury and they were saying stories each other, each one said four stories. But in fact there are only 23 tales. William Shakespeare - is the biggest author of this period. Christopher Marlowe - might become another Shakespeare but he had been killed. However he lived only a short life, he wrote many plays – The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, The Jew of Malta, perhaps he also wrote Henry VI, which Shakespeare revised and completed. Sir Thomas More - he wrote Utopia – a vision of Imaginary Island with perfectly organized society.


3) 17th Century John Milton - is the main figure of this period. His masterpiece is Paradise Lost, which is about the revolt of Satan against Heaven and God.


4) 18th Century In the 18th century there is a big development of the society and economy, journalism, novels and drama developed very much. Literature became very popular.



Jonathan Swift
Was a sharp critic. He wrote satirical pamphlets on all unfair events in British society. His most popular work is Gulliver’s Travels – allegory of Lemuel Gulliver's traveling thorough imaginary countries. He criticizes politics in England, kingdoms, armies, bad politicians etc. He visits four quite different worlds. The first one is country called Lilliputians, where the people are six inches high; the second country is Brobdingnag, which is inhabited by giants. The third are Laputa and Lgado – philosophers and science, and the fourth one is with Yahoos, disgusting beasts in the shape of men.


Henry Fielding
Journalist, lawyer and playwright. He wrote a realistic novel Tom Jones, where he described the life in the 18th century England. Fielding is considered as the founder of the Modern English novel.


Daniel Defoe
Was a politician, traveler and journalist. His most famous work is Robinson Crusoe. Robinson shipwrecked on a lonely island; he represents the qualities, which the middle class needed in capitalist competition to be successful.


5) The romanticism


Sir Walter Scott

Is a founder of historical novel. He draw the themes for his romantic novels from old folk ballads, especially from Scottish history. Ivanhoe is from the period of Richard the Lionhearted. The other novels are Waverley, Kenilworth and so on. The romantic period is known especially for its poetry; the best English romantic poets are: Samuel Coleridge - his masterpiece is The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner – a beautiful ballad about the mariner who shot the albatross and because of this the whole ship is cursed. The mariner is the only one who survives and his penalty is to travel from land to land with suffering soul.



Lord George Gordon Byron
Represent revolutionary romanticism – unhappy and usually lonely heroes fight for freedom and their fight ends in vain. Byron was a son of nobleman. He was physically disabled from hid birth. His main work is Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. The hero travels all over Europe and make comments of the hypocritical society and unfairness in life.


Persy Bysshe Shelly
Represents also as a Byron revolutionary romanticism. His greatest work is Prometheus Unbound, based on an old Greek legend about Prometheus who steals fire from Olympus to give it to People. 6) Victorian Age (Critical Realism) – 19th century: Victorian Age produced great novels criticizing various evils of prosperous but imperialistic society.



Among the best authors of this period belong
Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights
Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre - both of them dealt with moral and psychological problems


Charles Dickens
Described truly the life of poor people in England. He himself suffered in his childhood and his bitter experience can be found in his works. Among his major novels belong Little Doris, David Copperfield, The Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Christmas Carol – see enclosed paper. The First Half of The 20th Century William Makepeace Thackeray - he wrote novels against snobbery and hypocrisy. His main novel is Vanity Fair.


Thomas Hard
Together with D. H. Lawrence represents the naturalistic trend in literature. He understands hard life of common people, hates hypocrisy and brutal egoism of the rich, his work is ironical and pessimistic.



Oscar Wilde
He was born in Dublin, Ireland. His father was a well – known surgeon and his mother was a successful writer. After a comfortable childhood, he decided to study classical literature in a College in Dublin. In 1874 he moved to a College in Oxford. After college he continued writing poems and he moved to London. He publishes here his first book simply called Poems (Many literature professors criticized him, they said he was not original, because he had used many words from other poets and writers). But in spite of this criticism he became more popular (he got a great reputation for the way he dressed, for his intelligence and conversation skills). In 1884 he married Constance Lloyd and they had two boys.


Wilde wrote many stories for his children including The Happy Prince and The Carterville Ghost. The plays Oscar Wilde wrote after 1890 made him a legend. He wrote 4 comedies: Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of no Importance, An Ideal Husband and his masterpiece The Importance of Being Ernest.


He only wrote one novel – The picture of Dorian Gray. In 1893 he wrote a play in French called Salomé. He was criticized by London society and even put to prison (for 2 years) for homosexuality. The day he left prison he went directly to France and he never turned to England.


He moved to Paris and changed his name. He died suddenly in 1900. Oscar Wilde was influenced by the French theory of l˘art-pour-l˘art. He is also known for his fairy tales – The happy prince, The nightingale and the Rose and the other. The picture of Dorian Gray: Dorian Gray makes his life–style according to the rules of art. He loves the actress Sybil, because her speech in theatre is something new. When he discovered, that her art is only average, he stopped to love her and Sybil committed suicide.


He loves himself so much that he doesn't grow old and his portrait grows old instead of him and it shows all his sins, although real Gray is still young and nice.



7) The first half of 20.century


Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Is the creator of Sherlock Holmes and he makes one of the grates detective story writers of all times. Rudyard Kipling: was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature as a first British author. He wrote short stories about Indian, the sea, the jungle and its animals – The Jungle Book, The Second Jungle Book. John Galsworthy: he got the Nobel Prize in 1932, he was a critical novelist, dramatist and short story–writer.

His most known book is Forsyth Saga – describes upper middle class family.


James Joyce
He was born in Dublin, he wrote modern novels and experimental prose. Dubliners are a collection of short stories. His masterpiece is Ulysses – they wander around Dublin in the course of one day (Homer’s Ulysses about 20 years) and all the characters in the book correspond to the character of the legend. George Bernard Shaw - is the most famous personality in drama of this period.

He attacked the whole society. In his plays he criticizes the false morals of the society – Pygmalion (My Fair Lady), Mrs. Warrens Profession. He was awarded the Nobel Prize.


8) Contemporary literature
A group called: Angry Young Men John Wane - he expressed disillusionment and emptiness of intellectuals after W. W. II (as all angry young men – they are angry and dissatisfied with the establishment, criticize snobs and people in power). He wrote e.g. The Young Visitors. Kingsley Amish – the most famous member of this group. He is world famous for his Lucky Jim (the main character is Jim Dickson – a lecturer at one small university).


William Golfing
He was rewarded a Nobel Prize in 1983. His most known book is Lord of the Files – the story is set to the future, when an air–crash leaves a group of young boys on an island. First they are happy without their parents and they try to form an ideal society, then they form 2 groups and the end is full of barbarian bestiality.


J.R.R. Tolkien
Based the stories of his fairy tale novels on his profound knowledge of old Germanic and Celtic myths. He created a fantasy world of Middle-Earth where small hobbits seek happiness, goodness and live many adventures – Hobbits, The Lord of The Rings.


George Orwell
Wrote excellent novels criticizing totalitarian society (Animal Farm, 1984).


Agatha Christie
Is the most widely read author in the world. She is the queen of a detective story and wrote about 70 novels – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Ten Little Niggers, Sleeping Murder, Curtain...


Arthur C. Clarke
Is a world-known science-fiction writer – 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Fountains of Paradise.


9) Drama


John Osborne
Play Look Back in Anger – it was the beginning of the angry young men movement.


Samuel Beckett
Nobel Prize winner in 1969, he is important both for drama and prose. His famous play is called Waiting for Go dot. Harold Pinter – is influenced by Kafka and Beckett, for example the plays: The Room, The Birthday Party. The most successful play in history is Mouse Trap by A. Christie. Pozn: His masterpiece is.... His most popular work is.... He wrote.... His most known book is.



5. TV and Cinema and Radio
Cultural life in our town is not so rich as in large cities. In spite of that, there are some ways of spending leisure time. I can go to the cinema, to the theatre, dancing or I can stay at home and listen to the radio, watch TV and read books. I am not a TV addict and I am not one of those who spend hours in front of the screen. Unfortunately this I can’t say about radio. Radio and TV are for someone sources of information, for someone sources of entertainment or only a background noise.


1) What do you prefer?
It is hard to say what I prefer. I think that cinema, theatre and TV have their own advantages and disadvantages too. I prefer going to the cinema when I want to see some new movie and I don’t want to wait for it in television (for its broadcasting in TV). Sometimes I prefer going to the cinema when I am bored and there is nothing to do in the weekend. Watching movie in the cinema is something entirely different from watching it in TV.


In the cinema there is the strange atmosphere, but there is also one disadvantage – the tickets are quite expensive. Watching television is very popular. You can watch it everywhere and anytime you want. You can watch many TV-programs on many TV-stations. Some people say, that watching TV is waste of time, but I think that it’s unnecessary to say it; because everyone can choose those programs he prefers or can switch off the television.


I think that TV is quite good source of information. You can get very cheep and fast summary of news. The news can be sometimes more concerned with entertainment than information, but every viewer has to choose the correct channel. Another kind of TV program I prefer is e.g. documentary films. I’m interested in nature all over the world, and it’s very exciting to watch the life of animals, plants or other people in foreign countries.


The situation comedies are my favorite too, but they must be good. I like to watch some good films on TV too. It could be the film I had wanted to watch in a cinema, but I had no time for it. The TV programs I hate are e.g. soap operas. They are too long and boring and even very predictable. Another bad TV programs are stupid competitions, where you needn't know anything to win some money. I think it is quite unfair, because if it’s competition, you must prove something of your knowledge to get some money, not only by chance.


Then I hate more and more advertisements. But sometimes some of them are so stupid that they are funny. I like to listen to the radio too. According to my opinion it’s very good source of information and mostly the big source of music. I listen to the radio as much as possible. I think it’s not so big waste of time, because you can do many thing by listening to radio. The radio programs I use to listen are: radio news, radio music charts, discussion programs, commentaries, etc.



2) The history of film
The very first films started to be shot in the beginning of the 20th century. They were mostly documentary films (they were something like recent TV-news). Later, although the films were still black-and-white and silent, there appeared first movie star. They acted entirely in comedies. (the most popular comedy actor were e.g. Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel or Oliver Hardy and many other).With the developing of television, the number of visitors of cinemas goes down. People are too lazy to go to a cinema. Recently there appeared another competition for cinemas – video lending offices.



3) My favorite film, director and actors
I like: Jean Claude van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and all action heroes. 4) Radio and TV in U.K. and in ČR: In GB radio and TV broadcasting is mainly provided by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which has four radio and four television channels. The first channel presents almost news and information programs, the second and third channels are for light programs (such as films, soap operas or competitions) and the last one presents the cultural programs. The channels of radio BBC have the similar kinds of programs. In Britain there are also some independent TV e.g. ITV – Independent television, which is the biggest rival to BBC. BBC is financed by sailing of television licenses and ITV is financed by advertisement. The same situation is in our republic. There exist the competition between Czech TV – ČT (first channel – light programs, news etc. and second channel – cultural programs and programs for minority) and independent TV – Nova, Prima, etc. Czech TV derives its income from the sale of TV licenses and from advertisement too.



6. William Shakespeare Life
William Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest of all dramatists all over the world. He was born on 23rd April 1564, at Stratford-upon-Avon in Henley Street as the oldest son of glove maker John Shakespeare and his wife Mary Arden. He had one sister and one brother. William attended the local grammar school. When he was 18, he married Anne Hathaway from a nearby village Shottery. She was eight years older when he and already pregnant.


They had two daughters – Susan and Judith and a son Hamlet. Hamlet and Judith were twins, but Hamlet died at the age of eleven. There are nearly no records of Shakespeare’s life during the seven years than followed except one mention that they probably still stayed at Stratford-upon-Avon. But in 1592 he came to London and joined a group of actors known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Man. Eight years later he bought his own theatre and named it the Globe Theatre, which was out door and actors played in the open air. It is also important to remind that in Shakespeare’s time here were no actresses and also women’s roles were played by men and one actor played more roles than one.


First Shakespeare helped adapt or re-write older plays but later he started to write his own plays and he was very successful. Both the Queen Elizabeth I. and James I. liked him very much. One day, during a performance off Henry VIII was the Globe destroyed by fire. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men the King’s Men under the patronage of James I. His plays were first published in 1623. After his son’s death he went back to Stratford-upon-Avon and lived a quiet life with his family. Now he was a wealthy man and he bought a handsome house, the second largest in the town. The strange thing is that the died on the same day as he was born in the age of 52.


The legend says that he died after a louder and noisier birthday celebration with his friends. He is buried at local Trinity Church. Here is buried also his wife and other members of this family. There are only two portraits of Shakespeare, which are authentic and one of them is the bust in Stratford-upon-Avon at Trinity Church. Today there is the Royal Shakespeare (or Swan) Theatre, which is visited by tourists from all over the world.


Work
Shakespeare was a big poet and wrote some nice sonnets, but the best know are his plays. He wrote 37 plays, tragedies, comedies, historical plays and romances, which is something between tragedy and comedy:


Tragedies
Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and plays which are something between tragedy and a historical play – Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus.


Comedies
The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, As You Like It, Twelfth Night. Romances: Pericles, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest.


Historical plays
Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI.



Romeo and Juliet
I think that this is the best known tragedy all over the world. It is about the unhappy love and death. The main character are Romeo Montague and Julie Capulet the only children of two powerful houses of Verona. These two houses hate each other. Romeo meets Juliet at the ball and fells in love with her although he knows she is Capulet. They love each other very much and ask Pastor Friar Laurence to marry them.


Their love and marriage are secret. However, by unfortunate coincidence Romeo kills Tybalt, who is Juliet’s cousin. Prince of Verona sends Romeo to the exile and young Juliet stayed in Verona. She was forced to marry a young nobleman called Paris. She asks Friar Laurence for help again and he gives her magic drops after which she fells asleep for several hours and looks as if she was dead. Romeo learns about Juliet’s death and he doesn’t know about the trick, so he boughs himself poison. He hurried to the churchyard and when he sees Juliet, he commits a suicide. Soon after Juliet wakes up and when she sees Romeo dead, she kills herself with his sword. Both Montague and Capulet Houses reconcile only after the death of their beloved children.



Hamlet
This is also a tragedy. Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. His mother, a Queen, is a widow and marries Hamlet’s uncle Claudius. However the ghost of dead king appears and tells him, that it was the Queen and Claudius who killed him. He wants revenge. Hamlet writes a theatre play based on this story. But Claudius recognizes that the play is about him and sends Hamlet to England to be killed. Later Hamlet comes back to Denmark; Claudius is alarmed and wants to destroy Hamlet. Finally Hamlet kills the whole family and he is also killed. I don’t like this end because it seems to me like modern action films with rows of dead. But I love



Hamlets monologue
To be, or not to be – that is the question: – Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? – To die, - to sleep, – No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, - ‘tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, - to sleep; - To sleep! Perchance to dream: - ay, there’s the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there’s the respect That makes calamity of so long life.


King Lear
King Lear asks his three daughters how much they love him. Tow older daughters say that they love him very, very much but the youngest daughter Cornelia says that she loves him according to her duty. He punishes her by giving her no property and banishes her out of his kingdom. A kind Prince marries her, although she is poor. Old king divides his kingdom and all his property between his two daughters. Now he has nothing and one daughter sends him to the other because he is old and makes troubles.


Finally they order to him not to visit their houses again. He is left in a cruel storm alone and he becomes a fool. Cornelia learns about that and with her army she comes to help him. But she is put to the prison and handed a day later. King Lear dies of a big grief.



7. Prague
Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and the biggest city in our republic. It is in the centre of Bohemia and it spreads out on both banks on river Vltava. It covers area of 500 square kilometers and has 1.2 million inhabitants. It is divided into 10 districts. It is seat of the President, government and it isn't only a political centre but also culture centre, traffic centre and the centre of industry.


History
Prague was founded in the 6th century by Slavs. This foundation is connected with Princes Libuše, who told that the future glory of Prague "would touch the stars”. In the 10th century was founded Vyšehrad castle. It was build as a temporary seat of Přemyslid dynasty. It is the oldest castle in Prague. In the 14th century lived in Prague the most famous emperor of Czech Monarchy Charles IV. He established there an Archbishopric in 1344, founded Charles University (1348) and New Town. He also promoted the building of Charles Bridge and St. Vitus Cathedral with 30 statues in Baroque style. It is the second oldest bridge in our country.


In the 15th century Prague was the centre of the Hussite movement, which was one of the consequences of execution of John Huss. It was defeated on the Vítkov Hill. In the16th century was Prague the seat of Rudolph II, who invited artists and scientists there. In 1620 on The White Hill was defeated an uprising against Habsburg dynasty.


And a few months later were 27 leaders of this uprising executed on the Old Town Square. Now there are 27 crosses on the floor. The Thirty Years War, re-catholicization and reorganization followed. In 1918 Prague became the capital of Czechoslovakia, newly established state with President Tomáš Garigue Masaryk. In 1939 Czechoslovakia was split into Czech and Slovakia. Czech was occupied by Germany and it was refreshed in 1945. Since 1948 till the Velvet Revolution in 1989 was Czechoslovakia under the reign of communistic party. In 1990 it split again into two republics.



Life in Prague
Now Prague is the capital of a democratic state, consists of Bohemia, Moravia and Slesia. It is a big city and you can get there by train, that is the cheapest way, by bus or if you have enough money also by air. This way is mainly for foreigners. In Prague you can travel by underground, it is quick and relatively cheap or by bus or tram. Tickets are same for all this means of transport and you can buy a day ticket, three-day ticket or mount ticket, which save your money.


On summer you can also hire a boat and have a trip on the river or you can hire a horse-cart or some of the sightseeing trams. The most expensive way of transport is going by taxi. It is quite big risk because the taxi drives cheat and charge more than they are allowed to. Taxis are not also very quick because streets are full of cars and buses. It isn't problem to get to Prague but the problem is accommodation. The cheapest are youth hostels.


However, these hostels are very uncomfortable, you sleep with several people in one room and have no privacy and the staff is quite unpleasant. Hotels are more comfortable but also more expensive. The most famous hotels and the most expensive are Intercontinental, Forum, Palace and Savoy. A compromise between comfort and price can be bed and breakfast or private accommodation. In summer you can also live in a camp in tent. It is more comfortable and cheaper than a youth hostel but you must be careful about thieves.


In conclusion we can say that life in city is faster than life in a village or a small town and people are more aggressive because they don't know each other even by sight. City is very anonymous, you live there without a face.



Sightseeing
The natural centre of Prague is Wenceslas Square; it is the heart of New Town. It is 750m long and lined with banks, department stores, boutiques, shops, hotels, restaurants, cafés, theatres and cinemas. At the top of the square there is a bronze equestrian statue of St. Wenceslas made by J. V. Myslbek. This is a favorite place for tourists and that’s why it is so expensive. There are many street-stalls with souvenirs from Prague, ridiculous caps, postcards and guides.


Above there is a building of National Museum, which is renowned by its mineral collection. You can find there also exposition of Prague history, archaeological diggings drawings, models of architecture, etc. If you go straight down to the bottom of the square and turn to the right, you come to the famous Tyl (or German or Stavovské) Theatre.


It s a very nice building and behind it there is the oldest university in centre Europe, founded by Charles IV. in 1348 – The Charles University. It isn’t far from Old Town Square, the oldest square in Prague. In the centre there is monument of John Huss made by Šaloun.


On the ground of the square there is a sign for Prague meridian. The most interesting for tourist is Old Town Hall with astronomical clock, made by Mr. Hanuš. Each hour you can hear the bell and see the procession of twelve Apostles and a skeleton the symbol of passing times. There is also quite well known Týn Church and Kafka’s bookshop. You can go down to the Jewish Town. Most of this town was damaged by Germans during the second year war. Till now only some synagogues remained. The best known synagogue is New Old Synagogue, it is the oldest and it is used for Jewish worship services, and Pinkas Synagogue. On the walls in this Synagogue there are names of victims of Nazi terror. Beside it there is a Jewish cemetery with a grave of Rabbi Löw, where you can give a small paper with your secret wish and it will come true.



There is also a Jewish museum. You can go down to Vltava river and you can see there The National Theatre build in 1868 by public. When you go along the river, you came to Charles Bridge, the second oldest one in Czech Republic. On the both ends of this bridge there are bridge-towers, each one is different. This bridge is decorated with 30 statues in Baroque style made by Jan Brokof and Matyáš Brown. It is said that the statue of John Nepomuk make your dreams come true.



There is a lot of artists and musicians, stalls with pictures of Prague and stalls with jewellery. The Bridge Street leads to Lesser Town square, where St. Nicolas Church is. When you go up along Neruda Street, you come to the Prague Castle, the seat of President. It is a monumental complex of buildings. The most renowned are Vladislav Hall, Spanish Hall and Rudolph Gallery. From the squares outside you can admire the City below with hundreds of spires. In the central courtyards stands St. Vitus Cathedral, made in Gothic style. It was found by Charles IV. in a connection with establishment of the Prague Archbishop. It is result of work of two architects Petr Parléř and Matthias of Arras.



The most admired parts
Are St. Wenceslas Chapel and the coronation chamber. But the Prague Castle is not the oldest one. The oldest one is Vyšehrad Castle with Slavín cemetery where Czech artists, writers and rich Prague citizens are buried. Near it there is a St. Paul’s and Peter’s Cathedral. In nearby park there are copies of Myslbek’s statues. Other interesting thing in Prague is Petřín Hill with Petřín Observation Tower, free copy of Eiffel Tower. It affords a magnificent view of the Prague.


You can also find a Zoo in Prague in Troja or an exhibition place with theatres and Křižík fountain, which sports the water in the tune of the music in the lights of different colors. 8. Sports and Games Sports are very good for active relaxation and are important for our physical and mental health or just for keeping fit. There are lots of types of sports and games.



We can practice outdoor or indoor sports
In water or anywhere we want. Outdoor sports are following: golf, skiing (cross-country, down-hill, slalom, ski-jump), climbing, marathon-running, hiking, tourism, mountaineering, horse riding, rallies etc. Indoor sports include: table-tennis, gymnastic, chess...



There are also some sports which could be played both indoor or outdoor such as:

Tennis, ball games (basketball, volleyball), ice-hockey etc. Water sports are: swimming, water-skiing, diving (mask, flippers, body glove – wet suit), water polo, yachting, canoeing or rowing . We can also divided sports according to the season they are practiced:

Summer sports: swimming, ball games (football, cricket, golf, ...), athletics (sprint, high jump, long jump, javelin throw, ball throw etc.). Some sports can also be practiced in summer or in winter: athletics. E.g.: Winter – in summer rest and preparing time for its season. Winter sports: All sports connected with snow. Skiing, sledge, bobsleigh, biathlon, skating, snowboarding, speed skating, ice-hockey, competitive figure skating (single skating, pairs or ice-dancing). People all around the world are interested in sports. Ball games are very popular everywhere. U.S.: Basket ball is one of the most popular sport in USA. The very best players of this sport are black men and we can find here many basketball clubs in USA (NBA, Chicago Bulls, L. A. Lakers,...).


Million of people like to attend matches, watch them on TV or listen to them on radio and cross their fingers for their favorite team. Another popular game in USA is ice-hockey. There exist NHL (National hockey league)which consist of many ice hockey clubs such as Pittsburgh Penguins, ... In NHL we can find many Czech players, because they are very good paid here. Some of them are very popular – Jaromír Jágr, Dominik Hašek. According to my opinion money play a big role in this sport. If a club has enough money, it has the best players and it always wins.



GB
Many sports have their origins in GB, that why Britain is sometimes called the cradle of sports. Two types of rugby, modern game of hockey, cricket, darts, tennis and boxing were invented there. The very national sports in GB are cricket, golf, soccer or lawn tennis. We can find some major sports in Britain: Wimbledon (the Grand Slam Tennis Tournament), The British Open Golf Championship, The Grand National (it is the best known horse-race).



IN OUR COUNTRY
Has it’s traditions mostly football. We can find football stadium in almost all town or village. Another favorite sport in our country is ice-hockey. Now we have the best national ice-hockey team in the world, because we have won the gold medal in Olympic Games in Nagano.


The Olympic Games are the most important and the most famous – they are held every 4 years, they have their summer and winter parts which change once every 2 years. The first recorded O.G. took place in Olympia in Greece in the year 776 BC. There exist many legend about the origin of the games. They were so important to Greeks, that even the wars were stopped during they took place. The last winter O. G. took place in Japan in Nagano, it was in February 1998. Czech Republic won one gold medal in ice-hockey cup.
Kateřina Neumannová received one silver and one bronze medal (skiing).



9. My experience with sports
When I was much younger, I learned swimming, cycling, skating, etc. When I was six I started to play table-tennis with my uncle, who learns this sport for many years now. In this time I also started to practice athletics. I kept practicing it for about 5 or 6 years and I often go to some competitions. Later I became interested in various ball games. In summer I use to play volleyball with my friends and in winter I often skate when the lake is frozen over. Now I visited for few years (2 or 3) hours of aerobic and sometimes I go jogging in the evening. I like to watch some sports on TV – e.g. ice-hockey matches figure skating or athletics competitions.


At school we have our Physical Education lessons (three or two lessons a week). When the weather is good, we use to go out to the stadium, where we usually practice athletics. During the winter we usually go to a gym, where we practice gymnastic or we play basketball or volleyball. Drugs in sports Many kinds of drugs are used in sports all over the world. Some are used to build muscles or give extra energy. Others kill the pain of injuries or calm nerves, but many are illegal.



Anabolic steroids
Are used to build up muscles, they resemble male hormones. Bodybuilders use anabolic steroids to look good in competitions. These drugs can cause health problems: liver cancer in men and infertility in women. You can become very aggressive.



Stimulants
Make you feel full of energy and confidence, and you have the bigger stamina. It’s amphetamines and cocaine; they are used by cyclists and basketball players and footballers. Problems: they don’t create energy – they take it from your body. Users feel exhausted and washed-out. There is a danger of having a heart attack (collapse). Beta-blockers – are drugs, which are normally prescribed by doctors for people with high blood pressure or heart problems. They help calm you down and relieve stress.


Users: snooker players and archers – who need steady hands and cool nerves.



Problems
With heart and blood pressure.



10. Shopping and fashion Shopping
Nowadays shopping has become a sophisticated art or science. It is a question of knowing what to buy, where and when. What to buy depends on your purse and you also have to decide, where you want to buy. There are big department stores, where you can buy almost every thing.


Department store is a big building with many departures, such as Artist materials, Car-shop, Boys-wear, Girls-wear, Beds and bedding, Electronics, Furniture, China and glass, etc. and it is built in big city. The best known ones in London are Marks and Spencer, Selfridges and Harrods. Food products you can buy in self-service shops and supermarkets, which are bigger and sell also goods from the chemists and ironmonger.



On contrary there are specialized shops
Greengrocery – fruit and vegetables Butchery – meat Bakery – breads and cakes Tobacconist – cigarettes and tobacco Confectioner or sweet shop – sweet and ice cream Fishmongers’ – fish Florist – flowers Newsagent – newspapers and magazines Men’s wear and women’s wear - clothes and dresses Lingerie – underwear Draper – cloths ah bedclothes Wine-merchant (off license shop) – alcoholic drinks of all kinds, liqueurs Ironmonger – metal goods (tools, pots, pans, nails, etc.) Dairy – milk products and eggs Stationary – paper and office supplies Jewellery – gold, silver jewellery Toyshop – various toys (dolls, teddies) Deli (catessen) – some exclusive and more expensive food (Saif) Electrical appliances shop (electronics) – TV-sets, radio-sets, fridges, cassette recorders, etc. Photographic and cinema articles Grocery – food (tea, coffee, sugar, flour butter, cheese, eggs, jam, biscuits, tinned food) and kitchen needs such as soap, detergents and polish Chemist’s (US: drug store) – medicines and ointments, toothpaste, combs, soap, cosmetics, razor blades, sunglasses, films or cameras.
It has a counter, where you san buy something to eat or to drink.


Travel agent
Trips aboard or inboard Estate (US: real estate) agent – houses, etc. Hi-fi shop (US: music shop or CD shop) – hi-fi towers, radios, CD-players, etc. Chip and fish shop (US: French fries) Health food shop – soja, whole meal, full corn bread, muesli, low fat food, sugar free Post office – stamps, envelope, telephone-cards Record shop (US: music store) – CD, LP, etc. Shoe- shop – shoes Boutique – clothes Sport shop – leotards, tennis rockets, balls, helmets, bicycles, etc. Optics – glasses Household equipment shop Car shop Bookshop There are also some other places where you can do your purchase. One of them are corner shops run buy Indian or Pakistani families. Corner shop is a small shop in, or near a street corner. It sells food and newspapers. It is usually opened until late evening and on Sundays too.



Another place is street market
Where you can buy a very cheep. There stalls with vegetables, clothes, things for house, records, jewellery and so on. It is held usually once a weak by people from surrounded villages, some towns has a special place where are stalls every day. In a town there is usually a high street (in Hodonín it is Národní třída), where are lots of shops. The high streets in big towns look almost the same. This is because they are full of branches of big chain stores.


One of the best-known chain stores are Marks and Spencer (in GB), Mana, IKEA and McDonalds (in CZ). Special kind of shop is Charity shop. People go here and give here things, which they don’t want any more. It is a kind of second hand shop, but there is a difference. All money from purchase goes to charities. So you can buy cheap and also help to others.


Big shops use self-serving that means that you go around the shop and choose what you want. It is more economical for them and faster for customers. But at the small shops you buy everything at the counter, where you also pay for the goods you have chosen. You can pay by cash, by credit cards or by checks. Credits cards are very widely accepted in Great Britain but unfortunately we are not used to use them in our country very much. I think it is better use credit card, because using them can limit the amount of pickpockets and disappointed customers.


In bigger cities, especially Prague, the shops accept foreign credit cards, such as Visa Cards, American Express etc. But the most spread paying in our country is to pay by cash. Our currency is one crown and it has hundred hollers. In GB they have ponds and one pound has hundred pennies, in US they have dollars and one dollar has hundred cents. So if you want to buy something, you must have money, nothing is free.


Money you can earn, inherit, win, lend, borrow, win in a bet or steal but stealing money is not legal. You also can ask your bank to make regular payments from your bank account. An average Czech family goes shopping every day to local self-service shop for necessary food. Once a week they usually do one bigger purchase for the weekend and from time to time they have to buy clothes, shoes, household utensils and equipment. People from villages go for shopping to the towns.


A real shopping fever starts before Christmas when people try to buy mice and unique Christmas presents. Sometimes the use a catalogue for choosing things and buy them by ordering form and gets them by post. In south Bohemia there is a new established service. Post office “purchase into bag”, that means that old people can list the food and necessary things and put it on Friday to the post delivery clerk and on Saturday it is delivered to their homes in a shopping-bag. Purchase into bag is not very expensive and it depends on the distance from the shop.



Fashion
There is a Czech proverb and sometimes it is true. First, nobody wants to be naked. This is one big difference between a man and an animal. We wear many various clothes for various occasions. I wear jeans and a sweatshirt, when I go to school but when I go to the theatre I wear dress and a cloak. Nowadays we have a bigger choice than in the past. The fashion is also different, but some elements came back after some time, for example wide trousers or short skirts or high boots with high thick heel. But to be true I am not very concerned about fashion now.


Even if I would I would not been able to fellow it, because it needs a lot of money. Designer clothes are very expensive. Sometimes, when I see my nice-dressed classmates I think that it is a pity that we do not wear uniforms in the school as it is normal in Britain. Uniform usually consists of dark colored skirt or trousers, white shirt and cravat. It would clean the differences between a rich child and a poor child but it has some disadvantages too (lost identity).


But I can wear what I want, better to say for what I have money. I do not buy clothes in expensive boutiques and I never have them made. I buy them in ready-made clothes or in street stalls or my mother sews them for me. Maybe you say that in street stalls there are clothes of poor quality but you can choose there also some good after a proper test (pulling, squashing, watching, tearing buttons).


Sometimes I also buy clothes in second hand. But fashion it is not only the clothes, that is also jewellery, belts, shoes, handbags, hairstyle and haircut, glasses, umbrellas and of course material, pattern and color.



Clothes
Jeans, trousers, pants, jacket, blazer, socks, knee socks, shirt, suit, tie, waistcoat, bow tie, cravat, blouse, T-shirt, polo-neck sweater, sweatshirt, cloak, rain coat, fur coat, winter coat, costume, skirt, stockings, underwear, panties, bathing costume, bra, pajamas, nylon tights, dress, knitted suit, trouser-suit, cardigans-suit, jumper-suit, handkerchief, jacket, gloves, short-sleeved shirt, mid-calf length skirt, vest, culottes , leggings, beret, scarf, head-scarf, blouse, trunks, bikini, swimming costume, swimming suit, swimming trunks, goggles, bathing cap, gown, swimming gown, blanket, cap, hat, anorak, overall, apron, leisure suit, track suit, top, muffler, hood, mittens, bowler hat, buckle, wedding clothes, pullover, leotards



Jewellery
Earrings, rings, bracelets, chains, brooches, necklace, pin, semi-precious stone



Materials
Nature - leather, suede, denim, cotton, velvet, corduroy, sateen, muslin, linen, wool, fur, silk; man-made fabrics – rubber, nylon, polyester, fur fabric (fake-fur), poly-cotton; lightweight, fabric, terry cloth Colors: bright, garish, pastel, dark, light, white, yellow, orange, red, green, blue, brown, black, navy blue, canary yellow, purple, pink, scarlet, beige, whitish, creamy, khaki, maroon, waterproof


Patterns
Spotted, dotted, geometric, flowered, striped, checked, plain, printed, laces

Shoes: heel, sole, laces, top, upper, lace-ups, sandals, trainers, plimsolls, ski shoes, clogs, pumps, high boots, rubber boots, pull on, slip on, mules, stiletto-high-heel-shoes ankle boots, outdoor, indoor, slippers,


Vocabulary: make-up, lipstick, varnish (the nails), mascara, eyebrow pencil, cosmetics, complexion, shadow, powder, perfume, cologne, shampoo, tailor, sewing machine, hairdresser, curlers, fashion accessories, be in fashion, be out of fashion, clothing industry, footwear industry, thread, knit, sew, embroider, crochet, garage sale, sew on, needle, needle work, kilt is made of tartan, discard, smart look, clean, dirty, dry-cleaners, ornament, patch , fold, pleat skirt


Length: mini, maxi, mid-calf, Wearing in summer, autumn, winter, spring… Favorite clothes… Describing clothes… Clothes for everyday work… Clothes for wearing in theatre, school, wedding, sport…


English proverb: Manners make the man. X Clothes make a man. Favourite colour… Wearing at home…



11. Weather
Britain has a mild and rainy climate, although during the winter months easterly winds may bring a cold, dry continental type of weather. During a normal summer, the temperature occasionally rises above 27 degrees in the south, winter temperatures below –7 degrees are rare. The average annual rainfall is about 100 centimeters.


Rain is fairly well distributed throughout the year, on average, March to June are the driest months. The coldest month is January and warmest are July and August with average temperatures of about 16 degrees. June has the best record for sunshine.


Climatic in USA conditions differ greatly, due to the large territorial extent of the States. Some parts of the USA are in the Temperate Zone, the southern part lies in the subtropical zone and in Florida there is an area that is tropical. In Alaska an arctic climate prevails. On western coast temperature change very little between summer and winter, the north central states have different climate in summer and winter.


Our republic lies in the Temperate Zone. We haven’t a sea. There are the warmest areas in Southern Moravia and the c