City and country

There are many cities and towns in Russia. The biggest cities are Moscow and St. Petersburg. There are differences in the way of life people lead there due to the city's size, its geographical location, and economical situation, but there are undoubtedly common traits that separate it from the way of life people lead in the country.

Living in a city you usually have more choices about where to work, where to study, where to shop and where to spend your free time. Cities have public transportation systems so usually even in a big city you need not spend more than an hour and a half going wherever you need to go. Sometimes buses, trams and trolleybuses may be late in coming, but once you're in, they'll take you wherever you need to go. The big­gest cities also have subway system which is more convenient since its trains' speed doesn't depend on rush-hours. Cities have many shops, big and small, cinemas, libraries, the­atres, and other places where you can pursue your interests and spend your free time. There are more different education­al institutions and workplaces, so you have more freedom in choosing your career.

In addition, living in the city you can use many conveniences even without leaving home. City apartments have central heat­ing, running hot and cold water, garbage chute, and telephone; their TV sets take more channels and it's easier to get a good Internet connection.

Living in the country in Russia has always been more difficult than the city life. You are closer to nature and can breathe fresh air, drink clean water and eat home-grown food, but the country life is still devoid of many benefits of the city. The choice of jobs for coun­try people is limited and you have to go to a city or town for your professional training. The possibilities of buying what you want and choices of places to spend your free time are also limited. For all those reasons many Russian villages are dying. Only the old people stay there, and the young people from the countryside move to the cities to get an edu­cation and to look for a job.

Great Britain is a much smaller country than Russia, and all the distances inside the country are shorter. This might be one of the reasons why there are many villages where life isn't so different from the cities; indeed, many people working in big cities prefer to live outside of them, in charming villages, and go to work by train each day.

There are many big cities in USA, but there are also vast territories of the agricultural states, primarily in the Mid-west, where most people live in the countryside. However, there aren't really any villages there; small towns with shops, post offices and schools are surrounded by fields and farms standing far away and separate from each other.

Notes

1. trait - черта

2. once - если

American food

When we speak about American food, we always imagine hamburgers and hot dogs, fried chicken and giant steaks. But in fact Americans eat every kind of food imaginable, even spaghetti and pizza. The expression "as American as apple pie" means something that is typically American, but even apple pie came from somewhere else. The only true American foods are those that the Native Americans gave the first settlers, including corn, squash, pumpkin and turkey. Roast turkey, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie are still eaten at Thanksgiving.

The typical day starts with breakfast. During the week this might be something quick: cereal with milk, a muffin or toast with coffee, tea, milk or juice. On the weekends when people have more time, breakfast might be pancakes, waffles, an omelet, or bacon and eggs.

Lunch at work or school is usually between 12 and 1 pm. Some people prefer to bring their lunch from home. Tuna fish, sliced meat or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are kids' favorites. Most schools and some businesses have cafeterias that serve lunch.

Dinner, the biggest meal of the day, is generally at 6 or 7 pm. A typical dinner includes a hot vegetable, a salad, meat, and a potato or pasta dish. Stew (meat cooked with vegetables) and soup are also favorite dinner foods.

Americans love desserts. The standard dessert is pie. You can have fruit pies made from apple, peach, apricot or cherry, or berry pies with blackberry, raspberry or blueberry. A piece of pie is often served with ice cream.

But the truth is that Americans don't have much time for old-fashioned cooking at home. Quick snacks all through the day have taken its place. Takeout meals from restaurants and pizza parlors have become a regular part of everyday life. Ready-to-eat and instant processed foods that are quick to prepare are also very popular. TV dinners are complete dinners on a tray that you take from the freezer and heat up in the oven or micro-wave.

An enormous fast-food industry gives hungry Americans the snacks they want when they want them. Ice cream, popcorn and hot dogs are on sale everywhere. Best known, perhaps, is the McDonalds hamburger business.

But fast food makes you fat, that's why Americans are the fattest people in the world. More and more Americans worry about it and take greater interest in their health. The fashion for health food is growing all the time. Among middle-class people salads, beans and fruit have taken the place of steak and ice cream. Drinking is going down too. Smart businesspeople order mineral water, not wine, at their business. So now Americans pay more attention to their eating habits.

Notes

1. squash - кабачок

2. waffles – вафли

3. tuna fish – тунец

4. stew - рагу