14. Talent

To my mind, the question of human’s success has always attracted¹ a lot of public attention. Personally I suppose that every person has a talent. And the question is what kind of gift² does a person has. Nevertheless, success of human’s activity may depend not³ only on the talent.

As far as I am concerned⁴, the case⁵ associated with person’s zeal⁶ attracts me more. Because a person who works hard and spends much time and effort⁷ deserves⁸ more than a lazy man⁹ who achieves everything easily thanks to his talent. So, I respect the workaholics for their diligence¹⁰, hearteness¹¹, endeavour¹² and constant activity. They believe that there is 1% of the talent and 99% of your own fervour¹³ and I share this point of view.

But a lot of people, on the contrary¹⁴, respect talented people and ascribe all their achievements to¹⁵ person’s self¹⁶. However, I suppose that the talent of such people is not gained deservedly¹⁷ that is why I really respect people who in addition to their innate¹⁸ talent continue to improve their skills. I also consider that apart from the talent and hard work human’s success is formed as a result of daily fortune or luck and with the help of people around.

In conclusion, I can say that talented people are always honoured by society¹⁹, but there is no man who achieved something and became successful without persistent continual²⁰ work.

Vocabulary

1. attract – привлекать

2. gift – дар

3. depend not – зависеть от

4. As far as I am concerned – что касается меня

5. case - дело

6. zeal – рвение

7. effort – усилие

8. deserves – заслуживает

9. a lazy man – ленивый человек

10. diligence – усердие, прилежание

11. heartiness – воодушевлённость

12. endeavour – старание, попытка

13. fervor – пыл

14. on the contrary – напротив, наоборот

15. ascribe smth. to – приписывать что-либо кому-л./чему-л.

16. self – самому себе (человеку)

17. gained deservedly – приобретено заслуженно

18. innate – врождённый

19. honoured by society – почитается обществом

20. persistent continual – упорный непрерывный

15. How many languages to learn

Nowadays there is a large number of different schools specializing in studying of foreign languages in our country. And, undoubtedly¹, they are very popular in Russia. Because in today’s world a successful outcome² of the affair³ often depends on a person’s ability to speak foreign languages.

Actually⁴, I consider that it is better to know one language impeccably⁵ than have a superficial⁶ knowledge of several languages. As for me, it is rather difficult to learn at least one language thoroughly⁷ especially in the process of acquirement⁸ of general secondary education. I do not deny that it is really good to speak fluently⁹ several foreign languages. But at school, to my mind, pupils have to pay more attention to general subjects and learn two foreign languages at the most¹⁰. Furthermore, I think that there are some languages of greater importance than others on the world’s stage¹¹ today such as English and Chinese. As well as Spanish, French and German also become more and more popular in the modern society.

But there is also another opinion contrary to¹² mine. Some people think that school education program should contain¹³ as many foreign languages as¹⁴ possible. Such people suppose that it can help them significantly¹⁵ in the future especially if a career is associated with international affairs. It will also give a wonderful opportunity to get in contact¹⁶ with foreign partners. I do not regard this approach as a right one. It seems to me that young people can meet all these possibilities in the university when they are really concerned about¹⁷ their future profession. But in school all you need is to obtain¹⁸ a good basic education preferably in all subjects within a program.

Nevertheless, what you choose depends only on you. Because, despite¹⁹ everything, the problem of this controversial issue²⁰ is far from solving yet.