Dear children! Read this idioms, think about their meaning. Find their equivalents in your native language. Choose your favourite from the idioms below and write an essay.

Winslow Homer

  Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1836 and growing up in Cambridge, Winslow Homer became one of the all-time leading figures in American art, known for his marine genre paintings and for his espousing of realism, especially of American life. From the 1880s until his death in 1910, his work was focused on issues of mortality and the forces of nature such as violent storms at sea. Between 1884 and 1889, he did numerous etchings of his own paintings and watercolors.
  Homer had no formal artistic training until he was apprenticed to a lithographer, J.H. Bufford, but Homer disliked lithography and got work as an illustrator for Ballou's Pictorial. From 1859 to 1883, he worked from New York for Harper's Weekly, and from October 1861 to May, 1862, was one of their Civil War illustrators. He served as a special correspondent to cover the outbreak of the War, and attached to the Army of the Potomac, and filled his sketch book with informal studies of uniforms, weapons and the daily activities of the individual soldiers. From this period, he gleaned subject matter that ultimately became some of the outstanding paintings of the Civil War.
  He also studied at the National Academy of Design where Frederick Rondel was a major influence, but during the early years of his career, illustration was his "bread and butter."
  After the Civil War, he traveled and studied in Europe for several years including France from 1866 to 1867, where he shared a studio in Montmartre with fellow artist Albert Warren Kelsey. Several small paintings are extant from that period as are the three illustrations for Harper's Weekly that had helped to finance his trip.
  He returned to New York and settled for thirteen years in New York where his studio proximity to that of Eastman Johnson, genre painter, was a major influence. Many of Homer's early New York paintings were of leisurely figures in landscape, reflecting his time in France influenced by the Impressionists. For much of his residency in New York, he lived and worked in the famous Tenth Street Studio Building, and became increasingly exploring in his subject matter-rural life, childhood remembrances including summers at Lake George, Saratoga Springs, and the Adirondack Mountains. One of his most famous paintings, Snap the Whip from 1872, owes much to French plein-air painting and to the genre style of William Sidney Mount. In 1873, he began working in watercolor, and many of his most acclaimed works are in that medium. 

  From 1881 to 1882, he was in England near Tynemounth on the rugged coast of the North Sea at the small fishing village of Cullercoats, and he began doing scenes, harsher in tone, of figures struggling heroically in landscape. There he worked almost exclusively in watercolor.
  Settling permanently in the seclusion of Prout's Neck, a remote area on the coast of Maine, he strove not only for solitude but for the closest approximation he could find in the United States to that same English coast. At Prout's Neck, he was able to indulge his love of the outdoors, his fascination with the moods of the weather and the people in the landscape. He traveled all over for seascapes, boating, and sporting scenes and also made several trips to Caribbean Sea locations including Bermuda, the Bahamas and Cuba, where he did a number of marine scenes ominous in tone.
  Homer never married and in his most productive years lived a highly secluded life, seemingly content according to his letters and family accounts. In 2004, the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine began a two-year campaign to raise 12 million dollars for acquisition, preservation and endowment of Homer's studio at Prouts Neck.
  The Associated Press reported that on May 5, 1998, Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, paid $30 million for Lost on the Grand Banks, the last major seascape by Winslow Homer still in private hands.

The price paid at a secret private sale is easily a record for American art according to The New York Times, citing anonymous art experts. The 'Times' had the following:
  "The seller, John Spoor Broome, a businessman from Southern California, would not discuss the price or buyer. Broome bought "Lost on the Grand Banks" from his grandmother in the 1940s. The painting measures nearly 32 by 50 inches and portrays a dramatic image from 1885 of two fishermen in a choppy sea peering over the side of their small boat. "

Travel to Indonesia!

  Indonesia officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country.

  Across its many islands, Indonesia consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. The Javanese are the largest and the politically dominant ethnic group. Indonesia has developed a shared identity defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a majority Muslim population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity. The country is richly endowed with natural resources, yet poverty remains widespread.

  Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island (strictly speaking, the province covers a few small neighbouring islands as well as the isle of Bali).

          We are on Bali for a week. It is unforgettable.

Day 1st. At the afternoon we came to Denpasar, there we got the Indonesian visa, and than we stayed at our hotel and now we are having a rest. Our hotel is very nice and comfortable. The service personnel is very good. Our hotel room is quite big, clean and cozy. There are a conditioner, TV and a huge bathroom at our hotel room.

Day 2nd. We have just returned from the beach. The water is very warm and clean, the sun is shining bright, and the sand is white and hot. There is a possibility to study diving and surfing at the beach. We decided to try diving today. At the beginning it was very scarily but the instructor persuaded us that it is safely. We had a photocamera for making underwater photos. We made a lot of beautiful and some funny photos under the water. Here are some of them:

Today we dived at the firs time in our lives. Under the water we saw many different fishes which live on the coral reefs.

   Also we saw a big turtle and swimmed with it. The underwater world impressed us very much. And we decided to develop our diving skills at future.

Now we are going to have dinner at the local restaurant and try something from national cuisine. They say, that their cuisine is the mix of  Chinese, European, Middle Eastern, and Indian.

After the dinner we are going to go on a beach and then to the disco.

Day 3rd. Yesterday we had dinner at local restaurant. And we like it very much. Rice is the main staple food and is served with side dishes of meat and vegetables. Spices (notably chili), coconut milk, fish and chicken are fundamental ingredients. Now we are going to beach to try surfing.

We've just returned from the beach. And we completely decided that surfing is not for us!)))

Day 6th. There was nothing special yesterday and the day before yesterday. We were just visiting the beach and enjoying the weather. But today we were at the excursion. 

Snowboarding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c33RUIJ6fYc&feature=related

Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A. in the 1960s and the 1970s and became a Winter Olympic Sport in 1998. 

History

Modern snowboarding began in 1965 when Sherman Poppen, an engineer in Muskegon, Michigan, invented a toy for his daughter by fastening two skis together and attaching a rope to one end so she would have some control as she stood on the board and glided downhill. Dubbed the “snurfer” (combining snow and surfer), the toy proved so popular among his daughter’s friends that Poppen licensed the idea to a manufacturer that sold about a million snurfers over the next decade. In the early 1970s, Poppen organized snurfing competitions at a Michigan ski resort that attracted enthusiasts from all over the country. One of those early pioneers was Tom Sims, a devotee of skateboarding (a sport born in the 1950s when kids attached roller skate wheels to small boards that they steered by shifting their weight). As an eighth grader in Haddonfield, New Jersey, in the 1960s, Sims crafted a snowboard in his school shop class by gluing carpet to the top of a piece of wood and attaching aluminum sheeting to the bottom. He produced commercial snowboards in the mid 70's. During this same time, Dimitrije Milovich—an American surfing enthusiast who had also enjoyed sliding down snowy hills on cafeteria trays during his college years in upstate New York—constructed a snowboard called “Winterstick,” inspired by the design and feel of a surfboard. Articles about his invention in such mainstream magazines as Newsweek helped publicize the young sport. Also during this same period, in 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter, a Vermont native who had enjoyed snurfing since the age of 14, impressed the crowd at a Michigan snurfing competition with bindings he had designed to secure his feet to the board. That same year, he founded Burton Snowboards in Londonderry, Vermont. In the spring of 1976 Welsh skateboarders Jon Roberts and Pete Matthews developed a Plywood deck with foot bindings for use on the Dry Ski Slope at the school camp, Ogmore-by-Sea, Wales. UK. Further development of the board was limited as Matthews suffered serious injury while boarding at Ogmore and access for the boarders was declined following the incident. The 'deck' was much shorter than current snow boards. Bevelled edges and a convex, polyurethane varnished bottom to the board, allowed quick downhill movement, but limited turning ability.

In 1979 the first ever World Snurfing Championship was held at Pando Winter Sports Park near Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jake Burton Carpenter, came from Vermont to compete with a snowboard of his own design. There were many protests from the competitors about Jake entering with a non-snurfer board. Paul Graves, the top snurfer at the time, and others, advocated that Jake be allowed to race. A “modified” division was created and won by Jake as the sole entrant. That race was considered the first competition for snowboards and is the start of what has now become competitive snowboarding.

During the 1970s and 1980s as snowboarding became more popular, pioneers such as Dimitrije Milovich, Jake Burton Carpenter (founder of Burton Snowboards from Londonderry, Vermont), Tom Sims (founder of Sims Snowboards), Chuck Barfoot (founder of Barfoot Snowboards) and Mike Olson (founder of Gnu Snowboards) came up with new designs for boards and mechanisms that slowly developed into the snowboards and other related equipment that we know today.

In 1982 the first National Snowboard race was held near Woodstock, Vermont, at Suicide Six.

In 1983 the first World Championship halfpipe competition was held at Soda Springs, California. Tom Sims, founder of Sims Snowboards, organized the event with the help of Mike Chantry, a snowboard instructor at Soda Springs.

Snowboarding's growing popularity is reflected in its recognition as an official sport: in 1985, the first World Cup was held in Zürs, Austria. The International Snowboard Association (ISA) was founded in 1994 to provide universal contest regulations. In addition, the United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA) provides instructing guidelines and runs snowboard competitions in the U.S. Today, high-profile snowboarding events like the Olympic Games, Winter X-Games, US Open, and other events are broadcast worldwide. Many alpine resorts have terrain parks.

Initially, ski areas adopted the sport at a much slower pace than the winter sports public. Indeed, for many years, there was animosity between skiers and snowboarders, which led to an ongoing skier vs snowboarder feud.Early snowboards were banned from the slopes by park officials. For several years snowboarders would have to take a small skills assessment prior to being allowed to ride the chairlifts. It was thought that an unskilled snowboarder would wipe the snow off of the mountain. In 1985, only seven percent of U.S. ski areas allowed snowboarding, with a similar proportion in Europe. As equipment and skills improved, gradually snowboarding became more accepted. In 1990, most major ski areas had separate slopes for snowboarders. Now, approximately 97% of all ski areas in North America and Europe allow snowboarding, and more than half have jumps, rails and half pipes.

An excellent year for snowboarding was 2004 with 6.6 million participants. An industry spokesman said that "twelve year-olds are out-riding adults." The same article said that most snowboarders are 18–24 years old and that females constitute 25% of participants. Now, entering the second decade of the 2000s,snowboarding continues to increase in popularity among all demographic regimes regardless of age, sex, or ability levels.

Styles

Since snowboarding's inception as an established winter sport, it has developed various styles, each with its own specialized equipment and technique. The most common styles today are: free-ride, freestyle, and free-carve/race. These styles are used for both recreational and professional snowboarding. While each style is unique, there is overlap between them. See also List of snowboard tricks.

Films

Snowboarding films have become a main part of progression in the sport. Each season, many films are released, usually in Autumn. These are made by many snowboard specific video production companies as well as manufacturing companies that use these films as a form of advertisement. Snowboarding videos usually contain video footage of professional riders sponsored by companies. An example of commercial use of snowboarding films would be The White Album, a film by snowboarding legend and filmmaker Dave Seoane about Shaun White, that includes cameos by Tony Hawk and was sponsored by PlayStation, Mountain Dew and Burton Snowboards. Snowboarding films are also used as documentation of snowboarding and showcasing of current trends and styles of the sport.

TOPICS

[6]p.93
"The only sensible way to shop nowadays is in big stores"

   The majority of us live in big cities with advanced infrastructure. Nowadays there are a lot of big stores and shopping centres. Of course, nobody will argue about their functionality. You can combine a wide range of goods marketed under one roof, which can be bought without travelling throughout the city. In one section you can buy a GPS Navigator, in other a bicycle and in third some goods for your baby. The assortment in big stores is very various. It's very comfortable to buy all the products for the whole week in one place. Another advantage is sales and actions  in big stores. You can buy expensive or cheap goods depending on your luxuriance.
   But little shops are also very useful. If you want to buy just a bottle of water or some bread, of course, you don't want to go to the supermarket.
   So, the conclusion is simple! Different kinds of shops are necessary and you can choose which one you prefer!


 p.95
1) I live in a flat. And I like it. It's not very big but light and comfortable. The only thing which I don't like it is that the neighbors sometimes can be very noisy.
2) To improve my room? The walls in my room are white, and maybe I would like to change their color on blue or yellow.
3) I never thought about the most beautiful bedroom. But I'll try to imagine. It's not very big, light room with big windows. The bed is big and comfortable. Also there is a big wardrobe with a mirror. The room is decorated with some interesting ancient things. And there is a lot of flowers in the room. The floor is wooden and the walls are yellow or rose. That's all about the bedroom!:-)
 4) The poorest-looking house which I remember is the house situated in the village. I wasn't inside of it. But the outlook was terrible. The walls were ragged, the windows skewed and the roof was holey.


5)  - Hello!
     - Hello! I need some help...
     - Yes! I'm listening you.
     - You know, I need a sofa for my new flat.
     -Okay! Do you need a big or a little one?
     -  I need a big one for the hall.
     - Please, look at this one! Do you like it?
     - It's nice, but I need something else.
     - And what about that one?
     - Oh! It's perfect, but I don't like the color.
     - You can choose the color.
     - Great! Do you have a red one?
     - Yes.
    - Okay! I'll take it!



6) Everything is packed on the boxes. Be very careful with white one! And the computer is in the cabinet, please be careful with it! The refrigerator and  a microwave are at the kitchen, so put them at the kitchen in new flat. Put the bed at the middle of the bedroom and don't forget about the TV, put it against the sofa at the hall. And please, put the washing machine at the bathroom. That's all. Be careful! Thanks!




7) Hello everybody! Welcome to Kamyanets-Podilsky! Our city is very old and as you can see it's very beautiful. The city is one of the seven miracles  of Ukraine. There is a lot of historical monuments? museums and significant places in our city. But the pearl of the city is the fortress! It was founded at about 11-12 century. And it was rebuild few times. It has 14 towers, an old bridge and a museum. In the fortress there is the exhibition of the ethnography and of the metal arm. Also at the territory of the fortress you can see an old well. In the subterranean of the fortress you can see the exhibition of the protection the city from the turkmen.
Our city is very enigmatical and exciting. If you saw it     once you'd like to visit it again and again!

The house of my dream

   Many people dream.  Dream to visit  the  unknown countries, dream to fly by balloon or to cross ocean on a sailing vessel.
   Today the majority of people live in flats of multi-story houses. The person is a public essence and sometimes we want to retire from this society. But even in the flat we not always can allow the loneliness.
   The house of my dream is located about few kilometres from the city in a very beautiful place near the river or lake. I dream about place like this because I prefere fresh air and unpolluted water. The house of my dream is not very big, comfortable, well planned, with big windows. I don't need many rooms but they must be light and comfortable. In the hall there are many portraits of family members and a lot of flowers. The bedrooms must be very comfortable and elegant with huge beds and many interesting things. Every bedroom has bathroom and toilet which are spacious and modern.
   The accent of the house is living room with the fireplace. Also there is a little gym and relaxing sauna. In the house of my dream there is a big kitchen with all modern equipment.
   That's all about the house of my dream. I hope that one day my dream will come true. It would be great to live in the house of my dream.