Iceland

Iceland, the island in the North Atlantic is larger than England and Wales, but few people live here – only about 290,000, with over half in the capital city, Reykjavik. Iceland is a country of amazing landscapes – blue lakes and lagoons, fast rivers and waterfalls, mountains and volcanoes that erupt frequently.

Mount Hekla, in the south of the country, has erupted sixteen times in the last thousand years, and, in one of the most violent eruptions of recent times, the volcano on the island of Heymaey almost destroyed the town in 1973.

WRITING TASK

Write about the dramatic and peaceful life of the island, which is known for its amazing landscapes. Is it necessary to protect such places?

TRANSLATION

English-Speaking Countries: Culture and Traditions

The word “culture” has a number of meanings. It often refers to music, literature, art, and higher education. It also means the customs of a society and the way in which people interact with each other.

Every culture has certain basic ideas which everyone accepted for granted. These are fundamental things that everyone knows from his or her childhood, and which are automatic to the people who live in that culture. They include everything from the common courtesies (правила вежливости) and details of daily life to the deeper issues of a person's place in society, of family, of life.

When a person enters a new culture, the basic customs and ideas that he or she automatically accepted may no longer be true. The person faces a new set of customs and attitudes to try to understand.

Certain types of behavior are expected in English-speaking countries. The Americans like to speak about their home, colleges and achievements. Nicknames are much more often used in the USA than in Britain.

People in both countries consider time as an expensive object or material. They talk about it in many different ways. They save it, waste it, spend it, kill it. They have free time, leisure time, spare time. They invest in it and carefully budget it. Be polite and friendly in public places. Daily showers and a fresh set of clothes are the norm. Smile and people will smile with you.

WRITING TASK

Write about polite behavior in our country. What is the meaning of the word “culture”?

TRANSLATION

Cultural Differences

Knowledge of differences between cultures is one of the essential key skills that modern people need to possess in order to work and learn effectively. It is important to know cultural differences in order not to offend people of other culture or be misunderstood.

The value system of culture is very important. The value systems of culture shape public behaviours and beliefs. It is difficult to accept that one's own ways of behaving, which seem perfectly normal, can be seen as strange and even rude in another culture. But if a person does not try to observe his or her own culture objectively and does not have an understanding of why other cultures do things differently, it is inevitable that cultural mistakes will be made.

WRITING TASK

Write about strange behaviour of other people. Do you think that our own ways of behaving are perfectly normal?

TRANSLATION