1.3.My hobby

What is a hobby? It is what you can and like to do, when you have free time. We choose a hobby according to our character and taste. When we have a hobby our life becomes more interesting.

Very often our hobby helps us to choose our future profession because we learn a lot of new things.

Many people are interested in music. They collect records. Others like to read and collect books. People living in cities and towns like to be closer to nature and they spend their free time in the country.

Some of us go on hikes, some like to work in their gardens, take photographs or knit. For example, gardening and growing roses is the most common hobby among Englishmen. Both grown-ups and children are fond of playing different computer games. It has become one of the numerous hobbies. I have got a hobby too.

My name is Nozanin. Sometimes I have got some free time. As my hobby is cook­ing I like to make cakes and pies. My cakes are very tasty, but I like pies best of all. I'll tell you how I make pies with cab­bage. First of all I take a head of cabbage, cut and put it into a frying-pan. Then I take carrot and peel it. By the way I have a very comfortable grater at home. I like to use it when I make my pies. I usually grate carrot, onion using my favorite grater. I put grated carrot into the fry­ing-pan, then I salt cabbage and carrot to my taste, mix them and add some water. Then I stew these vegetables in the fry­ing-pan. I usually buy some paste for my pies.

I cut up paste, roll it and make small pies. Then I put pies with stewed cabbage into the oven. It takes twenty minutes to bake them. My parents and friends like to eat my pies. I advise you to make such pies and I hope that you'll like them too.

1.4.English language

We live in the modern world and you can’t imagine an educated person who doesn’t know any foreign language. It is especially important nowadays. Some people learn languages because they need them in their work, others travel abroad.

English is a widely spoken language all over the world. You can hear it everywhere: in a street, in shops and restaurants, in offices. You don’t need to know Japanese when you go to Japan, or French when you visit Paris. English will help you to understand each other.

A modern engineer or even a worker deals with instruments and machines from other countries and must be able to read the instructions, which are usually written in English. Computer programs and games, most of Internet pages are also written in English. Science magazines are mostly published in English and scientific and business conferences are held in English as well. Diplomats and militaries use English to solve their problems.

Besides, the knowledge of English helps to know more about the countries, read many books in the original and to make new friends.

That’s why all pupils should master their English to become good specialist in any branch.

1.5.English writers

I like to read books. Literature helps us to live in this world and we learn a lot from books. Lately I have been interested in English literature very much. English books teach us to understand the English language the way Englishmen speak. Such books as “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare help us to understand things which appeared to be very simple in this life. When I have read this book I have looked at these things on the other side. And Mark Twain, Reduard Kipling, Agatha Christie. Their books at times I read at the night secretly from the parents been covered myself with a blanket. And I can name many others. Today I will want tell you about Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie is known all over the world as the Queen of Crime. She wrote 78 crime novels, 19 plays and 6 romantic novels under the name of Mary Westmacott. Her books have been translated into 103 foreign languages. She is the third best-selling author in the world (after Shakespeare and the Bible). Many of her novels and short stories have been filmed. The Mousetrap, her most famous play, is now the longest-running play in history. Agatha Christie was born in Torquay, Devonshire. She was educated at home and took singing lessons in Paris. She began writing at the end of the First World War. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published in 1920. That was the first appearance of Hercule Poirot, who became one of the most popular private detectives since Sherlock Holmes. This little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and the passion for order amazes everyone by his powerful intellect and his brilliant solutions to the most complicated crimes. Agatha Christie became generally recognised in 1926, after the publishing of her novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It’s still considered her masterpiece. When Agatha Christie got tired of Hercule Poirot she invented Miss Marple, a deceptively mild old lady with her own method of investigation. Her last Poirot book, Curtain, appeared shortly before her death, and her last Miss Marple story, Sleeping Murder and her autobiography were published after her death. Agatha Christie’s success with million of readers lies in her ability to combine clever plots with excellent character drawing, and a keen since of humor with great powers of observation. Her plots always mislead the reader and keep him in suspense. He cannot guess who the criminal is. Fortunately evil is conquered in her novels. Agatha Christie’s language is simple and good and it’s pleasant to read her books in the original.