My MotherlandМоя РодинаMy name is Maxim and I’m 14 years old. I’d like to tell you a few facts about my motherland - Russia. I was born in Atkarsk, but grew up in Saratov. My parents moved to the larger city when I was five years old. So, my school years are connected with Saratov. It’s a large city, which is a major port on Volga River. We have relatives in other cities of Russia, so we often travel around the country to see them. I’ve already been to Moscow, to Kursk, to Vladimir, to Samara and several other places. And I should say I liked all these cities. Once again they prove that Russia is a great country that offers a wide range of attractions. When I look at the map of our country, I understand that it is immense. To travel the whole country, to see its southern and northern parts, to explore its riches and sights one needs to spend years. Even Winston Churchill said about Russia that it’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery. I think he meant the charming nature and atmosphere that distinguishes Russia among other European or Asian countries. All in all, my motherland spans 11 time zones and has the population over 140 million people. The capital of the country is Moscow. It was founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky. Today it’s considered to be of the largest and most beautiful cities in the world. I’m lucky to have visited it. There are many remarkable rivers in Russia, among them, the Yenisei, the Lena, the Angara, the Neva, etc. In fact the deepest freshwater lake is also situated in Russia. It’s the lake Baikal in south-eastern Siberia. My motherland gave the world lots of famous people, among them, Yuri Gagarin, Isaak Levitan, Alexander Pushkin, Georgy Zhukov and many others. I’m proud to be living in a country full of natural and historic wonders.
My name is Ann. I’m thirteen years old. I’m a pupil of a state secondary school. At the moment I’m studying in the 7th form. In a few years I’ll finish the school and I’m planning to enter a university. I wonder what the school of the future will be like. I think it will change a lot for the better. For example, at the moment my school is situated in quite an old building, but our principal says that in the nearest future some renovations will take place. So I believe that in two or three years the school will look much better and newer. Another thing I would change in my school is the size of the rooms. Our group consists of twenty-eight pupils and some classrooms are so small that there is hardly enough space for all of us. So I’d like the classrooms to be larger and lighter. We have recently started learning computer science and there is a new well-equipped classroom for this subject. We love attending computer lessons, but sometimes there aren’t enough computers for everyone. Besides they are quite big and occupy lots of space in the room. I’m sure that in the future everybody will have a personal computer and the school will buy more modern technology for its pupils. We also enjoy PE (Physical Education) but I’d like those lessons to become more interesting. We only play in the schoolyard and do some exercises. I think that swimming lessons in summer and skiing in winter would be a good idea. I hope that some changes will take place before I finish school.
